


Snow Storm

by CleverCorgi



Series: The Arctic Hare and the Easter Bunny [1]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Original Secondary Characters, Poor attempts at humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-03
Updated: 2013-04-19
Packaged: 2017-12-07 08:50:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 46,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/746619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CleverCorgi/pseuds/CleverCorgi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack's been a Guardian now for a little over seven months.  Things have been pretty awesome so far, in his not-so-humble opinion, but his life is about to take a drastic change and he may not like where it's headed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Proverbial Fan

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not make any claim of ownership to the intellectual property used herein. Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, and the related intellectual property belong to their respective company/author. I'm simply having some harmless fun with their material.
> 
> ~~Working title. I'll probably keep it unless I can come up with something better.~~ I'm thinking "storm" in two different meanings, by the way. The obvious one, a snow storm, yes, but also "storm" in the sense of an attack or siege. Just FYI.
> 
> Rated for probable (whom I kidding -- absolutely likely) smut at some point later in the story.

It was a Sunday in November when it started.

An innocuous, completely normal, and mundane Sunday.  It had only been a couple weeks since Halloween, but it was late enough in the year that an early morning frost was not unheard of and, in fact, expected in the region around Burgess.  This chilly morning was no different, nor was the sight of the lone, pale figure sitting atop a church steeple in the middle of town, head cocked as he listened to the sounds of Mass emanating from below.

Jack Frost was indulging in the memory of church services long past, ones that he’d recently started remembering with the help of Toothiana and his mortal baby teeth.  Although his family had not been Catholic, he had nevertheless been tutored in Latin (among other subjects) under the guidance of his uncle, the village priest.  At least, that is, before his father had gone out trapping one day and never returned.

Jack had, over the three centuries of his lonely existence prior to being made a Guardian this past spring, spent a great deal of time in libraries and classrooms during his “off-season,” seeking both knowledge to fill the long hours and, when the modern age came around, the cooler climate-controlled environs found within.  Until he’d regained this set of memories, he’d always wondered why Latin had come to him as naturally as it had.

He was brought out of his reverie by the church bell suddenly ringing sharply behind him, momentarily drowning out the sounds of the Mass below.  His reflexive flinch into the Wind’s embrace, away from the painfully sharp tolling, saved him from a flurry of ice shards that followed that first miss.

Spinning to identify his attacker, Jack had to immediately throw himself into a dive to dodge another flurry of ice shards, spinning and weaving through the traffic on the street outside the church, before flying high above the church in a wide arc, surveying his surroundings all the while.  He was finally able to spot his opponent atop the building directly across the street from the church.  Or, rather, _opponents_.

Icelings.

Minor spirits of the winter season that reminded him of drawings he’d seen of goblins – albeit foot-tall snow-white goblins.  Jack had had a few run-ins with their ilk before, but they had simply ignored him; not that it would have mattered in the long run, as they were of rudimentary intelligence and lacked the ability to communicate in any language Jack knew.  Given how much of a polyglot he’d become since his death, he had found that quite surprising the first time around.

“Nothing for it, then,” he muttered to himself, as he prepared to go on the offensive, artfully dodging another flurry of ice shards.

Swinging his staff in a wide arc, he sprayed the rooftop where the Icelings were standing with frost, making their footing slippery.  Not exactly a problem for the Icelings, but when he commanded the Wind to follow that up with a heavy gust, the Icelings went sliding right off the roof and fell several stories to shatter on the pavement below.

Carefully surveying his surrounds, Jack spotted the next attack too late and would have been skewered had the Wind not taken matters into her own hands and flung him several blocks east.

“Whoa there Wind, slow down,” Jack said.  “I appreciate the save, but I don’t want to bring those things anywhere near Jamie.”

The Wind whistled around him in response, reproving, celebratory, and chastened all at once.

“Come on, let’s go get them.  I have an idea.”

Jack spun around in the air and shot off back the way he had come to the sound of the Wind’s ethereal battle cry.

He quickly spotted the next group making their way towards him, jumping from rooftop to rooftop.  Grinning, Jack commanded the Wind to knock them down the next time they jumped, before spinning to the side to dodge more shards of ice coming from a third group that had suddenly appeared.  He spared a glance at the second group as they too shattered on the pavement, before turning his attention fully to the third set of attackers.  Before the Icelings could fire any more projectiles, Jack twisted, turning the momentum of his dodging spiral into a swift, hawk-like dive, careening towards the Icelings before they could so much as blink.

That is, if they had had eyelids, which Jack was pretty sure they didn’t.

As he was about to crash headlong into the front of the group, he again twisted, this time with his staff held perpendicular to his body with both hands and spun like a top.  His staff smashed into the assembled Icelings, shattering their fragile forms to bits.  Jack spun to a skidding, three-point stop on the nearest rooftop, his staff held high in his left hand, panting from the head rush caused by the maneuver.

After catching his breath, Jack leapt into the air, flying high above Burgess to scout for any further parties of Icelings.  Finding none after long minutes of searching, Jack drifted in the Wind, contemplative, trying to puzzle out the reason for the attacks.  He hadn’t even _seen_ an Iceling in a decade, which only added to his confusion, as they were terribly rare outside the poles.

“Ack!” Jack squeaked as the Wind flung him a few _miles_ to the north, just barely dodging a huge ball of ice that went sailing through where he’d been moments before.

“The hell…?” Jack murmured, coming to rest atop a tall evergreen tree and staring back the way he’d come.  He spotted a large, mostly white figure rapidly closing the distance.  It took him a few seconds to figure out what, or rather, _who_ , it was.

“Oh, for the love of—”

“Frost!” The ogre-like behemoth bellowed, “Jack Frost!  I told you’d I’d be back again someday!”

Jack launched himself from the treetop, spinning in a graceful spiral higher into the sky, pausing in the open air and staring down at his fast approaching adversary.

“Frosty!” Jack shouted back, “What do you want, you lumbering bag of graupel?”

Frosty the Snowman – or Snowgre, as his kind were more properly know – snarled back, “Your head!”

The snowgre promptly launched himself skyward, hurtling towards Jack as if he’d been shot from a cannon.  Jack performed a flipping maneuver, dodging the creature’s enormous hands by mere inches.  Jack spun in place, his momentum causing him to glide away from the snowgre as it descended.

“You’re not still mad about the ‘Silk Hat’ incident, are you?” Jack jeered, “The children loved it!”

Frosty hit the ground like a meteor, gouging a trough several dozen feet long through dirt and snow before he snagged a tree, halting his slide.  That very tree was subsequently ripped from the ground and thrown at Jack, who barely had time to register the projectile before it clipped him, knocking him to the ground.

“I’d have eaten them that day if you hadn’t hit me with that ‘happy snowball’ crap of yours!” Frosty roared as he charged.

Actually, it had been more a ‘happy snow- _boulder,_ ’ come to think of it, but Jack had only been protecting the children.  He hadn’t expected the monster to turn into a singing and dancing buffoon.  It had inadvertently turned into one of his better pranks, although he was having second thoughts about that now _and why was he still on the ground?!_

Jack clambered to his feet and managed to just barely flit out of the way of the snowgre.

“Ha—”

Jack’s taunt was cut short by a backhanded swing that sent him careening across the landscape, bouncing ass over teakettle for several dozen yards before he was able to plant his staff, gain control of the momentum, and flip into the air.

He couldn’t get very high off the ground, however, as he was trapped within a huge thicket of trees, but there was enough room for him to dodge Frosty’s next projectile tree trunk, which crashed into the tree he’d been hovering in front of only moments before with bone-shattering force.

Waving his staff before him to fend off splinters and larger chunks of wood, Jack had just enough time to notice the charging brute and formulate a counter-attack.  Throwing his hand out, Jack created a thin sheet of black ice, nearly invisible to the naked eye unless you knew where to look.

Frosty didn’t.

“Aaaarrrgghhh!” Frosty hollered as he went lurching forward in an out-of-control slide, suddenly unable to find purchase, before crashing head first into a tree, his _head_ piercing straight through the thick trunk.

Unfortunately for the tree, it couldn’t take the force of the impact and was promptly uprooted, allowing the snowgre to continue his impromptu flight into the debris field that had once been another tree and Frosty’s most recent projectile.  Jack winced as he watched Frosty collide with the ground and get buried in the shattered remains of the three trees.

Jack quickly froze over the debris, trapping Frosty within.  Only part of a shoulder and his head were visible above the mess, and the snowgre appeared quite battered and bruised, blood trickling from a gash in the snowgre’s forehead, making a mess of the right side of his face.

Jack gently landed several feet outside the now-frozen snowgre’s improvised prison, yelping in pain as his left foot touched the ground and falling to his knees, which didn’t appreciate the impact either.  Carefully repositioning himself onto his rear, Jack took stock of his injuries.

“Let’s see…one injured—probably sprained—foot, cuts, bruises, and—Ouch!” Jack yelped, wincing as he touched his tender right cheek, where Frosty’s backhanded swing had connected.

“One black eye, coming right up.”

Icing over his various cuts in lieu of bandages, Jack called the Wind to pick him up.  She complied, gently lifting him from the ground with great care.

“Frost!  Let me out of here!” Frosty bellowed, causing Jack to wince from the volume.  That snowgre had a set of lungs.

“I think…not,” Jack replied sassily, before a thought struck him.  “Do you know why a bunch of Icelings attacked me earlier?”

The snowgre’s attempts to free himself stilled as he stared at Jack, before belting out a raucous laugh, which quickly turned into a wheezy coughing fit.  The crash must have cracked a few ribs.  Served the beast right.

“I really don’t like being laughed at when I don’t even know the punch line yet,” Jack growled.

“You’ve been made a Guardian.  That’s upset the balance of power.  It’s open season on you now,” Frosty smugly replied once he got his breath under control, but the effort of speaking quickly devolved into another coughing fit.

Jack stilled completely, like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car at Frosty’s pronouncement.

Shit.

Shit shit shit.

A thousand times _shit_.  No, a _million_.

When Jack was able to bring himself to speak again, he tentatively asked, fearing he already knew the answer, “Who’s out to get me?”

Frosty laughed hoarsely.

“ _Everyone._ ”

_Shit shit shit._

Suddenly, the crashing sound of trees falling and the grunting bellows of more snowgres could be heard.  Jack was surrounded.

Fucking _damn it_.

 _This is going to hurt,_ Jack thought as he threw himself straight up, into the woven evergreen branches above his head.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Having finally managed to lose the snowgres after many hours of pursuit and intermittent battles, and now thoroughly lost, Jack found a small babbling stream and gratefully hovered above its surface, drinking handfuls of the cold, crisp water as quickly as he could as he thought about his plight.

_Open season._

That was bad.  Very bad.

“Open season” was a sort of ritualized free-for-all smack-down that occurred amongst the spirits of winter whenever one of them “rocked the boat” and upset the power balance.  The spirits at the top of the food chain did not like contenders for their positions and ruthlessly ordered the lesser spirits to attack the wayward spirit until it was either pounded into submission (usually to death) or they bested all the minions.  _That’s_ when the big shots started showing up to teach the upstart a lesson.  It almost always ended in death for the upstart.

Of course, if they managed to hold their own against the big boys, they were granted a higher position within the “court” of winter as befitting their newfound prowess.

The Icelings had just been the opening salvo.  The brute squad back there had been the first real assault.  If Jack remembered the pecking order correctly, the next attackers would be—

A twig snapped in the forest.

_Oh god fucking damn it._

Jack threw himself into the air, trying to escape, but a hand grabbed his left foot – _of course_ it would be the injured one – and flung Jack bodily across the clearing.  Jack twisted in midair, narrowly missing the tree that he had no doubt been intended to hit, and spun to face his attacker.

 _Fuck_.

A Wendigo.

Cannibalistic once-human spirits, Wendigos were tall, emaciated creatures that hunted the northern forests for stray, fearful humans to consume.  Always hungry, they would begin eating their prey immediately, usually— _especially_ —while it was still _alive._

Jack hated fighting these monstrosities, but at least he’d beaten a couple before, though those had been _hard_ fights.  And he was already injured.

 _Fuck_.

“Easy now,” Jack began, slowly drifting backwards.

The Wendigo roared and charged.

_Damn it._

Jack planted his staff on the ground and, with his good foot, flipped up onto the crook and launched himself straight up.  He was fast enough to dodge the grasping hands.  He was not fast enough to dodge the claws.

Jack shouted in pain as three long gashes ran diagonally across his right thigh, rending the fabric of his deer-hide pants.  The toughened leather absorbed some of the blow, but he still began bleeding profusely.  Quickly flash freezing the surface of his skin to slow the bleeding, Jack spun in the air and swung.  The crook of his staff smacked the Wendigo in the face right as it spun to attack him again, sending it stumbling backwards with a snarl and an arc of blood spraying from its mouth.

And a fang.

 _Oh goodie.  One less pointy thing to stab me with,_ Jack thought, before an idea struck him.  He grinned evilly.

Jack snagged the four-inch long fang out of the air and, before the Wendigo could recover from the previous blow, stabbed the creature in the eye with its own fang.

It didn’t like that.

It _really_ didn’t like that.

The Wendigo bellowed in agony, flailing half-blind in Jack’s general direction.  Its wild swing connected and sent Jack flying across the clearing again.  This time he wasn’t quite as lucky and clipped a tree, bouncing off it and landing in the stream, which quickly turned a pinkish-purple with his blood.

Jack lay there for all of two seconds, hysterically thinking to himself, ‘ _At least my wounds are clean_ ,’ before heaving himself to his feet—“Ow!”—and launching himself skyward with his one kind-of-good leg—“Ow, ow, ow!” —leaving the injured monstrosity behind, it’s rage-fueled, agonized bellows echoing for miles.


	2. Fighting, Running, Fighting....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here, have the second chapter while I'm at it.

Having evaded the now one-eyed Wendigo, Jack flew for all he was worth towards the North Pole, hoping he could make it to North’s Workshop before he was attacked again.  It was another hour before his hopes were dashed, somewhere above northern Canada.

At first, Jack just thought a natural snowstorm was beginning to brew.  However, given his panicked state of mind, he wasn’t going to put it beyond the realm of possibility that it might be his fault, like the last time he’d been running for his life back in ’68.

Jack was secretly grateful that Bunnymund had shown up when he had, the creature pursuing Jack having immediately run screaming the other way, fearing for its life.  He still resented the rough treatment though.

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Jack felt a shiver of fear run down his spine when he heard the tinkling, feminine laugh on the wind.  Jack at first hoped it was just his imagination, but the second time he heard it made it heart skip a beat.  There were three voices.

_Three_.

_I hate my life._

Jack swerved abruptly, trying to dodge whatever attack his instincts screamed at him was incoming, but he wasn’t quick enough and was hit by a blast of needle-like ice shards, which tore through his left calf, leaving him bleeding copiously from dozens of tiny wounds.

Jack yelped in pain, losing control of his flight for a moment, and plummeting earthward.  Jack shook himself mentally and barely managed to catch himself in time; instead of crashing into the ground at terminal velocity, he simply bounced ass over teakettle, for the second time that day, several yards before coming to a skidding stop on his rump as his back thumped into a tree.  He was promptly covered in a layer of snow that fell from the tree at the impact.

Jack lost precious seconds stopping in the ringing in his ears.  By the time he was able to stumble to a standing position, favoring his left leg even more now, he was surrounded.

Three females—wearing flowing, pure white kimonos which tapered off at the bottom to become indistinguishable from the heavily falling snow gathering on the ground, with their long silvery hair blowing madly in the howling wind—were circling him slowly, tittering amongst themselves.  They were staring at Jack with the mad hunger of victory in their shining, cold, solid black eyes.

Yuki-onna.

_I’m so dead,_ Jack thought, terrified completely out of his mind.

One of the three spoke to him just then.

“Frost-chan, you no look good.  We can help,” she twittered at him, smiling in a way that somehow conveyed both lascivious and deadly intent all at once.

“Um, Yuki-onna-sama,” Jack stuttered, feeling the honorific couldn’t hurt any.  “I—I appreciate your ‘kind’ offer, but I respectfully must decline.  You see, I’m on my way to North’s worksh—” Jack stopped mid-word, yelping when one of the other spirits snarled at him.

“You no go anywhere, Frost-chan,” the third stated, matter-of-fact. “We kill you now.”

_Shit_ , Jack thought as the three Yuki-onna rushed forward, _I’m so dead._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

E. Aster Bunnymund was cheerfully humming, painting several dozen of his googies, testing out some new colors and patterns.  It had been a nice, relaxing day, spent reclined against a moss-covered rock formation next to the Color River, basking in the sun while working.

_Crash_.

Bunnymund jumped at the noise, which caused him to draw a line straight across the snowflake he’d been painting.

It _had_ been a nice, relaxing day.

Setting down his brush and the googie with a frown, he turned to find Nicholas St. North lying face down on the ground, having fallen out of one of his portals.  The Cossack had misjudged his entry.  The portal was just winking out of existence—several feet off the ground.

“Bunny!  Is good to see you!  Today is meeting, da?” North said jovially as he stood up, brushing himself off.

“Oh bugger, I forgot.  Is everyone else already there?” Bunny replied, wincing internally at the thought that Frostbite might have beat him there.

“нет.  Jack is missing.  Was hoping you could find him?”

Bunny sighed in annoyance.  Of course the bloody wanker was off mucking around.

“Why me?”

“You know Christmas more important than Easter!  Is only month away!  Very busy!  You will go find him and bring him, da?  We will be waiting!”

Before Bunnymund could even open his mouth, North had tossed down another snow globe and dashed through his portal, whisked back to his Workshop.

“Christmas more important than Easter?  Crazy drongo!  Bloody hell,” Bunny muttered, sighing in frustration.  “Now where’s the little galah gotten off to?”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was fighting for his life.

Which, really, come to think of it, was what he’d been doing.  _All.  Damn.  Day._

He rolled under another swing from Yuki-onna #1 and then hopped over a blast of ice needles from #2, only to take a kick full on in the stomach from #3.  For the third time that day, Jack found himself bouncing ass over teakettle.  At least there were only a few trees this time.

_Crack_.

Of course, he just _had_ to hit one of them.

_Fuck_.

Shaking himself, Jack flipped into a standing position, careful about his sprained ankle and torn up left calf.  With a little gust of Wind, he managed to get away from the tree and get back out in the open where his staff could do the most good.

Not that he had managed to hit the bitches yet.

Dodging more ice needles, he spun in place, surveying the battlefield.  Splattered smears of his pinkish-purple blood dotted the landscape, and he was beginning to feel a bit dizzy, despite the adrenaline.

_Not good,_ Jack thought, _I’m losing too much blood._

Taking a moment to flash freeze his calf again, Jack quickly found himself surrounded once more.  Not that he expected anything less from Yuki-onna.

“Y’know, honorable ladies, you don’t have to do this,” Jack stalled.  “I’m not trying to buck the power structure or anything.”

The Yuki-onna tittered at him again, their tinkling laugh sending chills down his spine.

“Shikata ga nai, Frost-chan.  Taishou-sama has ordered your death,” #2 twittered at him maniacally.

Taishou-sama?

_General Winter?!_

_Shit._

_I’m soooo dead._

“We mean no disrespect, Frost-chan,” the first one twittered at him in turn.

Right.  No disrespect.  That’s why the kept calling him Frost- _chan_.  And were trying to _kill him_.

Jack’s left leg chose _right fucking now_ to give out.  He stumbled to a half-kneeling position.  The Yuki-onna laughed savagely.

_This is it,_ Jack thought hysterically. _I’m dead._

The Yuki-onna leapt—

Jack brought his staff up into a desperate defensive position—

—and two of the Yuki-onna lost their heads mid-leap, exploding in twin flurries of snow, their dying screeches born away on the wind in the deepening twilight.

The third stopped in mid-air, as if she had no inertia at all, and spun on the spot, hissing at the intruder.

Jack watched the path of the boomerangs in a daze as they returned to his savior.

Bunnymund.

_Oh.  Thank.  God._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Bunnymund had expected Jack to be horsing around with Jamie.  A quick stop at the kid’s house, however, proved that idea wrong.

“I have no idea where he is.  I haven’t seen him all day,” Jamie had told him.  “It’s Sunday though, so you might check around the church in the middle of town.  He’s been hanging out over there lately.”

_The church?_ Bunny thought, as he thanked the boy and took off.   _Why?_

The Pooka had no luck at the church either.  Just as he was about to leave, though, he noticed a few scattered piles of ice shards.  On a hunch, he snagged one of the shards and examined it closely.

_Sniff_.

Organic ice.

Iceling.

“What the…?” he exclaimed, surprised.

Bunny didn’t know much about the various winter spirits, but he did know about a number of the lesser creatures that wandered the world, having encountered many of them over the many millennia of his existence.  Icelings should _not_ be in Burgess at any time of year.  It was too warm.

_Something’s not right,_ he mused, dropping the shard and jumping up to a fire escape and, from there, the church steeple, intent on getting a better view of the area.  As he landed, he noticed a strange smudge of ice on the bell.  Looking down, he saw more ice shards.

_Frostbite was attacked_.

Pooka may be the sentient equivalent of Earthly rabbits, a prey species, but Bunnymund was a warrior.  A ranger.  He was trained in hunting and pursuit techniques to find, follow, catch, and, when necessary, kill.  He suspected that his skills were about to be tested to their limit.

Sniffing the air, he faintly scented Jack.  The trail was hours old.  He needed to hurry if he was going to find the boy.

Dashing off in the general direction of the scent, he lost it abruptly just outside of town.  Searching the area, he found large human-like footprints, but the proportions were completely wrong.  Whatever made the footprints had feet nearly as large as his own.

Sniffing the print, he caught the horrid stench of decomposing excrement and nearly gagged.

_Shouldn’t be too hard to follow_ that, he thought with a mental shudder.

Bunnymund quickly found a small clearing in a forest several miles north of Burgess.

Well, it was a clearing _now_.

Signs of battle were everywhere.  And there were many, many more sets of those foul-smelling footprints than one creature could have made.

Jack had been ambushed.

Bunnymund cursed.  Quite colorfully, and in several dead languages.

Searching the battle site, it took him a quarter of an hour to work through the muck and debris to figure out which way the creatures had gone.  He all but flew after them, as fast as his legs could carry him.  After a while, he began using his tunnels to take shortcuts, trying to catch up as best he could.  He’d pop out, check for signs, find it and tunnel ahead and repeat the process.

He eventually came to a clearing with a small stream.  It didn’t smell like the foul-smelling creatures had made it here.  There were clumps of snow tainted a strange pinkish-purple shade scattered about.  There was a large spray of violently red dried blood across several trees too.

He first moved to sniff the red blood, hoping it wasn’t the Frostbite’s.  He needn’t have worried.  He almost gagged, again, at the stench of death that permeated the blood.

Not Jack’s blood.  Thankfully.

So what is all this pinkish-purple…?

Gingerly picking up one of the oddly-colored clumps of snow, he gave it a tentative sniff and abruptly froze.

_Jack_.

“Oh bloody fuck,” he muttered, wide-eyed as he took in the area again with his newfound knowledge.

Jack had lost a fair bit of blood.  Not as much as the whatever-it-was, but enough to worry Bunnymund.  He searched the clearing thoroughly, but after nearly an hour of searching, he just could not figure out which way Jack had gone.  The creature had not pursued the boy, of that he was sure, as its trail lead back the way Jack had come and, if his instincts were right, Jack would not have retreated south, which would have put him at risk of being found by whatever those big-footed creatures were.

His instincts told him Jack would have flown north, towards the Workshop and safety.

But he had no trail.

_Calm down,_ he told himself sternly.  _There’s another way._

It had been at least a millennium since he’d used the ability, but there was another solution.  Maybe.

Bunnymund focused on his breathing, slowing it down and regulating it to be perfectly even.

In.  Out.

In.

Out.

Centering himself, he carefully reached out with his senses, reaching across the earth, expanding.  Sensing.  Knowing.

There, 1.25 miles to the northeast, a stag was foraging for berries.

There, 2.45 miles north-by-northwest, a bear was slumbering in a cave.

There, 10.2 miles almost exactly due north, a small hamlet was settling down for the evening.  Population 102.  No, 105.  Two women were pregnant.  One with twins.

He kept reaching out with his senses, pushing to feel the one life, one being he was desperately seeking.  If he couldn’t sense Jack, then it would mean he wasn’t in contact with the ground, which would make this a wasted effort.  But if he was—

_There!_

Jack.  34.62 miles just west of due north.

One sprained ankle.  Left.

Multitude of other injuries.  Cuts.  Abrasions.

Black eye.  Right side.  Bruised cheekbone.

Several lacerations, right thigh.

Broken rib, left.

Bunnymund whimpered as he lost Jack’s presence for a moment.  Wait, there he—

_Fuck_.

Three cracked ribs, right side.  Adrenaline high.

He was fighting someone _right now_.

With a swift double-tap of his footpaw, Bunnymund dropped into a rabbit hole and ran.  Faster than he’d ever run before.

It felt like hours, but it was barely a minute before he was opening another hole and hopping out, silent as the wind.  His practiced eye quickly took in the scene before him.

Jack, kneeling.  His left leg must have given way.  Staff held high as three screeching human-like things leapt through the air, claw-like hands extended, ready to kill.

He let his boomerangs fly before he’d even realized he’d drawn them.

Two down.

One two go.

She was hissing at him.  Heh.

“You should know better than to mess with a Guardian, you foul creature,” he taunted as he flung his boomerangs again.

The creature went to leap at him, but Jack managed to snag its—her?—leg, which caused it to pause more than long enough for the boomerangs to strike home.

Three down.

Jack was safe.

Wait.

That was a bloody huge puddle of Jack’s oddly colored blood under him.

“Bunny,” Jack breathed out, relief shining in his face for one beautiful moment—

—and then his eyes rolled back into his head and he tumbled to the ground.

“Jack!”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shikata ga nai -- Japanese, of course. Means "it cannot be helped."  
> нет -- Russian. "No."
> 
> A cliffhanger.
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> I'm such a bastard. ^_^


	3. A Moment's Reprieve

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for ADD Jack on painkillers!

Jack woke.

_Well, that’s unexpected,_ Jack mused drowsily, before a thought struck him.

_Bunny saved me._

Jack felt a warm curl of happiness at that thought for the briefest of moments.  Then he shifted and became rather distracted by the pain that shot through his abdomen.

_Ow._

_Ow ow ow._

Jack groaned pitifully as he became fully awake and, thusly, fully aware of the extent of his injuries.  He froze for a heartbeat when he suddenly heard movement and a screeching creak _right next to him_.  Carefully peeking out from beneath one sleep-heavy eyelid, Jack mentally sighed in relief when he saw Bunnymund scooting his chair closer to the bed Jack just now realized he was laying on.  The sudden movement had been Bunny starting awake himself at Jack’s groan; the creak had been the wooden legs of his chair sliding on the floorboards.

Floorboards.

Huh.  He was at the Workshop then.

He started to wonder how long he’d been out when suddenly his vision was filled with a surprisingly close Bunny, whose eyes were flitting all over the place, examining Jack’s face carefully.  The expression on the overgrown rabbit’s face – Jack had never expected to see _tender_ directed at him of all people.

Nice.

At least getting almost killed had its perks.

Jack would never admit it to anyone, least of all himself, but ever since Bunnymund had saved him on that disastrous Easter Sunday in ’68—and despite the tongue lashing he’d received for the huge snow storm he’d caused in his panic—he’d had a little bit of a hero-crush on the annoying giant rabbit.

_Really_ small.

_Infinitesimal_.

How could he really like such a crazy giant furry space alien that was so annoying and strong and kind and annoying and amazing and furry and – and – he must be _way_ out of his mind to even be thinking about that right now when – oh, Bunny was starting to speak, he’d better pay attention.

Focus Jack, focus.

“Frostbite?” Bunny whispered tentatively.  “You awake?”

Jack opened his eyes fully – well, as fully as he could with one apparently still puffy black eye – and nodded slightly, a shadow of a smile gracing his features for a brief moment.

“How you feeling?  Do you need anything?”

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but only coughed weakly instead.

Bunny blinked at him, then grinned before saying, “Water.  Gotcha.  Be back in a jiff.”

Jack barely had time to register that Bunny was gone – oh, look, it was snowing outside! – before the Pooka had returned, his sleek fur – damn it Jack, focus.

_What the hell do they have me on, anyway?_ Jack mused distractedly.

Bunny carefully tilted the cool glass of water such that Jack could take several tentative sips before he was able to take a larger swallow.  Jack turned his head to the side when he was done drinking.  Bunny placed the glass on a nearby nightstand.

Deciding to answer Bunny’s earlier question, Jack whispered, “I feel like I was run over by a bus.  And then maybe a train.  Or two.  At least I’m still all in one piece…?”

Jack trailed off at the thought, momentarily worried, but relaxed when Bunny nodded affirmatively.

“Oh.  Good.  Just thought I’d check.  So, um,” Jack replied, stuttering in mild embarrassment as Bunny leaned closer attentively.  “H-how did I get here?”

Bunny smiled softly.  Jack’s insides fluttered mutinously.

_Fucking hormones._

“I carried you—”

Flutter.

_Shut.  Up._

“—here.  I think we managed to get outta there in the nick of time, too.  I swear I heard more of them crazy-arse snow-sheilas on their way.”

“Yuki-onna,” Jack supplied.

“Yuki on a what?”

Jack struggled to suppress a giggle.  “No, silly rabbit.  _Yuki-onna_.  Snow Woman, roughly translated.  They’re Japanese winter spirits.  Very nasty.”

“So I noticed.  Pretty easy ta kill though…”

Jack smirked.  “That’s because you beheaded them.  It’s pretty easy to kill most of the lesser winter spirits that way.”

“Noted.  So what—”

“Jack!  You’ve awoken!” North thundered as he and the other two Guardians entered the room.  North was carrying a plate of cookies.  Jack was promptly staring up at a severely worried Toothiana, who, in her haste, had unceremoniously knocked Bunnymund right off his chair.  Jack just as suddenly found her fingers in his mouth.

Again.

_Sigh_.

“Ack!  Watch it you tooth-crazy sheila!” Bunny complained as he stood back up and reclaimed his chair.

“Oh, Jack!  We were so worried!  Are your teeth okay?” She nattered at him, oblivious to the Easter Bunny until he grabbed her wrists and carefully removed her hands from Jack’s mouth.

“Stop that.  He’s still recovering,” Bunny cautioned sternly.

“Oh!  I’m sorry Jack!  I was just so worried I forgot myself!” Tooth responded, flushing in embarrassment.

Jack smiled his acceptance of her apology.

Tooth sighed happily at the sight of his teeth.

_Sigh._

Jack turned his head to look at Sandy, not wanting the silent Guardian to feel left out and was pleased to find the Sandman patiently waiting for his attention.

Sandy flashed several images at Jack inquiringly.

“I’ve been better Sandy.  I’m just lucky Bunnymund showed up when he did.  Speaking of which,” Jack replied, before it occurred to him that he’d worked very hard to not leave anything to be tracked by.

He turned to Bunny and asked, “How did you find me anyway?  I worked very hard to hide my trail.”

Bunny grinned proudly at Jack.

Flutter.

_Oh, by all that is holy—!_

“I’m something of a ranger, you know.  Good at tracking down people and what-have-you.  I’ll admit, you didn’t leave me much ta go on, but the creatures that were chasing you didn’t bother to hide their tracks.  Even then, after your fight in that clearing with the little stream with that one creature that reeked of death—”

“Wendigo,” Jack helpfully supplied.  North choked on a cookie.

Bunny glanced dubiously at North.  “Right.  As I was saying, you left no sign in that clearing.  So I had ta…what’s the word for it nowadays?  _Kennen_? No, that’s Middle English.  Ah, _kenna_?  Nah, that’s Old Norse.  What about—”

“Ken?  Or, in verb form, kenned or kenning.  Given the Middle English and Old Norse root words, I’d say you’re trying to use ‘kenning’ in the chiefly Scottish and British sense of ‘to have knowledge’ or ‘to understand,’” Jack stated matter-of-factly.

The other four Guardians stared at him like he’d grown two heads.

“What?  You think I spent _all_ 318 years of my life just causing trouble?” Jack asked crossly.

The other four looked at each other dumbly for a moment, and then nodded at Jack.  At least Sandy was grinning at him cheekily.

“Hey!” Jack spluttered, before coughing wheezily.

Bunny rushed to his side and helped Jack into a more comfortable reclined position, rather than a lying one, and then supplied the glass of water again for Jack to drink from.

“So, as I was saying,” Bunny said patiently (for once), placing the empty glass back on the nightstand as he spoke (several elves swiftly grabbed it and ran off), “I—kenned—your location.  It’s kind of hard to describe, really.  It comes with the whole package of being tied ta Spring and Easter.  You know, life and fertility, the Earth, and all that.  I can just…extend my senses outward if I concentrate and feel for other people and creatures that are in contact with the ground.  I’d not done it in…a while, but I found you all the same.”

Jack grinned at Bunny.  “Cool.”

Bunny blinked at him.  “Bloody larrikin and your American slang.”

“ _Modern_ slang.”

Bunny rolled his eyes by way of answer.

“Jack,” North spoke into the silence. “What is this all about?”

“Well, after being attacked by Icelings, and before the Wendigo and the Yuki-onna, I was attacked by a bunch of snowgres led by ‘Frosty the Snowman’—”

“Hate that drongo,” Bunny muttered.

Jack grinned at the Pooka.  “Remind me to tell you about why he hates me so much sometime.  Anyway, I captured Frosty long enough to find out what was going on.  Um,” Jack continued, before the thought of what he was facing struck him anew, leaving him speechless for a moment.

Bunny, ever the impatient one, pressed, “Um, what?  Spit it out you gumby!”

Jack gulped, then said in a small voice, “General Winter declared open season on me.”

North choked on another cookie.  Serves him right for eating while Jack was in pain.

Bunny and Tooth just looked puzzled.

Sandy had a huge exclamation point above his head and was staring at Jack, mouth open in complete shock.

“North?  Can you explain?  I need a breather,” Jack asked quietly, feeling very small at that moment.

Sandy laid a comforting hand on Jack’s shoulder.  Jack favored him with a thankful smile, albeit brief.

“Winter spirits have, what is called…?  ‘Pecking order?’  Yes.  Is based on strength.  If a spirit’s strength increases greatly, the winter… ‘nobility,’” North’s right eye twitched at the word ‘nobility,’ “declare this ‘open season’ on them.  All other winter spirits expected to harass the, erm… ‘upstart,’ I think is word,” North slowly explained, carefully choosing his words.

“Harass?  Whatever do you mean by that, North?”

“I think he means ta hunt and kill the ‘upstart’ spirit, Tooth,” Bunny offered grimly.

North nodded, mouth twisting as if he’d unintentionally sucked on a lemon.

Tooth gasped.

Sandy looked sad.

Jack worried.

Bunny looked grim, but determined.

_At least there’s that,_ Jack thought, somewhat hysterically.

“But _why_?” Tooth asked, voice pitched a couple octaves higher than normal.

Jack decided to speak up again, saying, “Winter spirits are cruel and treacherous, Tooth.  They fear change.  A spirit who becomes stronger is a threat.”

“But you’re not like that!” she exclaimed.

“I’m different,” Jack replied, shrugging reflexively, before wincing in pain.  “Ow.”

“Don’t do that, you gumby,” Bunny chastened, before asking, “So, when you became a Guardian, they…”

Jack nodded.

“Bloody hell.”

“I think the attacks only started now because most of the spirits can’t stand summer weather like I can.”

Sandy got Jack’s attention and flashed several more images at him.

“What’s the...hierarchy?” Jack questioned.  Sandy nodded.  “Um.  At the top is the Snow Queen.  Well, technically.  Old Man Winter is more powerful, but he sits outside the hierarchy.”

“Why?” Tooth inquired.

“I dunno, really.  He doesn’t like the politicking, I guess.  And he’s stronger than everyone else, so he doesn’t have to care.  Um, below the Queen are the General and then the various old winter gods that still exist.  Thankfully, there aren’t many.  Below that are the various creatures, many of which I fought today.”

“Where do you stand, Frostbite?”

“I…don’t really know.  Shortly after I became a spirit, I, ah, got a ‘visit’ from the Snow Queen.  She basically told me to ‘behave,’ and that was about that.  Scared the crap out of me.  She was the only spirit I saw my first century,” Jack explained slowly, feeling a little faint at the memory, even after three centuries.

The Snow Queen was just that scary.  _And she didn't even try to be_.

The other four Guardians shared guilty looks.  Jack tried not to notice.  It didn’t seem to matter how many times he told them it was in the past – they continued to hold onto their guilt for leaving him alone for so long.  It still hurt, but he was trying to be mature and let it go.

The windows in the room suddenly rattled noisily in a high wind from outside.  Jack jumped, and then immediately yelped in pain.

“Ow…”

Moving hurt.  Jack decided not moving was a good idea.

Bunny grabbed Jack’s shoulders and gently repositioned him, lightly chastising him for moving too much.

The windows rattled loudly a second time.

“Frostbite, will you get the Wind ta stop that,” Bunnymund groused.

Jack concentrated for a moment, before his skin paled to a shade of white lighter than the others had ever seen on him.

“That’s not my Wind,” he whispered in a small voice.

“What is it Jack?” North queried intently.

Jack shuddered, ignoring the pain that caused, and whispered quietly, “Boreas.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next up: Nurse Bunny!


	4. Dr. Bunnymund, I Presume?

Jack carefully burrowed into the blankets and pillows of the bed in a feeble attempt to hide, while Bunnymund swore quite vulgarly.  In Latin.  Tooth paused a moment to stare at the Pooka in shock.

Feeling a little lighter of heart at the interaction between the other two Guardians, Jack commented, “Impressiva, Bunny.  Ego amat.”

Bunnymund gave him a startled look.  “You understood that?”

“Yes, I studied Latin extensively,” Jack replied, smirking, his troubles momentarily forgotten in the fun of catching Bunny off-guard.  At least it was relieving his tension for the moment.

Jack then had the pleasure of finding out how adorable Bunny looked when he was embarrassed.

Flutter.

_Oh fuck off._

“What should we do Jack?” Tooth asked plaintively, having recovered from her shock at Bunnymund’s invectives.

“The only way for me to get Boreas to leave me alone permanently would be to defeat him in combat.  But, uh, I’m not really in any shape to do that right now,” Jack replied, growing tenser by the moment as the reality of the situation sank back in.

“What if we fight him off, Jack?” North inquired, setting the now-empty plate of cookies aside.

“You guys chasing him off would only delay the inevitable fight.  I—I have to do it or it ‘doesn’t count,’” Jack said, his voice trembling on the last few words.

Everyone was silent for several moments before Jack sighed gustily, ignoring the slight ache in his ribs that action caused.

“Right.  I’d better get to it then,” he stated dejectedly, but determinedly, as he pushed himself to a full sitting position with a groan.

“What are you doing?  You’re in no condition to fight!” Bunnymund shouted.

“What choice do I have?” Jack replied as he moved to get out of the bed, grabbing his staff in the process.

It was then that Jack realized he was wrapped in bandages.  And _naked_.  Jack yelped and made a grab for the Christmas-y comforter to keep himself covered, but he was too unbalanced and slid out of the bed.  Bunny caught him when he fell, swiftly wrapped the comforter around him snugly and then picked him up, bridal style.

Flutter.

_I don’t even—_

“Hey!  What do you think you’re doing, Kangaroo?” Jack complained.  “And why am I _naked?_ ”

“That Boreas character canna get into _my_ Warren, Frostbite.  I’m taking you there ta recover.  Besides, I can make better medicines there for you to heal faster.  As for you being naked, I had to remove your clothes to bandage you up.  Phil took them off ta get mended and washed.”

“Oh.” Jack replied dumbly.  After a moment, he asked teasingly, trying to cover his nerves at the thought being naked in Bunny’s arms, “What are you, my doctor?”

Bunny gave Jack a stern look.

_Uh oh._

“North!  Can we use one of your snow globes ta get ta my Warren?”

“Of course!  A moment!” North replied loudly, in his usual fashion.

The large Cossack then stepped out of the room and bellowed, “Phil!  Bring snow globe!  Быстро!”

A string of surly Yetish was Phil’s reply.  Jack still hadn’t worked out that language, but it didn’t sound very polite.  Not that Phil ever sounded polite.  Jack was pretty sure that North and Phil traded insults all day just for fun.

“А мать была хомяком и Отцу вашему пахло, как козел!” North shouted back with a grin.

Phil rumbled back something even surlier than before.  North laughed.

Jack giggled helplessly.  Now he was _positive_ they traded insults for fun.  And Tooth was looking at North with a bewildered expression, which just made it funnier.  She may speak several dozen languages, but Jack was sure Russian wasn't one of them.

_I wonder if North has ever seen—_

Bunny gave Jack another surprised look and interrupted his thoughts to ask, “You understood that rubbish?”

Jack nodded as he whispered conspiratorially, “I can understand Russian well enough, but I couldn’t speak it to save my life.  Don’t tell North.  He says the funniest things when he doesn’t think we can understand him.”

Bunny smirked as he nodded.

Phil appeared in front of North and handed him a snow globe.

“Спасибо. Теперь уходи, пока я дразнить вас во второй раз,” North said as he waved Phil off.

Phil rolled his eyes and disappeared from the doorway.

Jack suppressed another giggle.  North _had_ to have watched that movie.

North stepped back into the room and tossed the snow globe against the wall.  A portal quickly appeared, a view of the Warren appearing through it.  He gestured towards it insistently.

With a nod of thanks to the other Guardians, Bunnymund moved to enter the portal.

“Off we go, Frostbite.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Bunnymund carried the injured winter sprite through the Warren in silence, heading for his burrow.  He feigned obliviousness at Jack’s growing blush, which tinted his cheeks a faint shade of lavender under a thin layer of frost.

 _The kid’s likely just embarrassed about being carried while naked,_ Bunny thought.  _I’ll never understand humans and their ‘modesty.’_

After several minutes of walking, Jack tentatively spoke up.

“Where are you taking me, Bunny?  I don’t recognize this part of the Warren.”

Bunny spared a glance at the sprite.  Jack’s blush deepened.  It was actually kind of cute.  Aster blinked at that thought.

 _Did North spike his eggnog again?  I did_ not _just think the little bugger looked cute!_

Mentally chiding himself for getting distracted, Bunny replied, “I’m taking you ta my burrow.  I’ve only got the one nest, but it’s plenty big enough for us ta share—”

“Share?” the boy squeaked.

Bunny gave Jack a funny look.  “That’s what I said, you gumby.  It’s big enough for four Pooka my size, so you won’t be crowding me none.  I’ll be better able to keep track of your healing if I stay close to you.”

Jack’s face was now dark lavender and the blush and frost were quickly creeping down his neck and beneath the comforter.  He’d averted his eyes and was staring at the paw nearest his head.

 _Humans_ , Bunny thought in exasperation, suppressing a sigh.

“What’s the matter, Frostbite?” Bunny finally asked when the silence became uncomfortable.

The sprite squeaked again.

 _Not cute,_ Bunny reminded himself.

“It’s just, that is, I—I,” Jack stuttered, before taking a deep breath and then finishing in a small voice, “I’ve never slept with someone before.”

Jack then glanced up at Bunny through his lashes.  If Bunny didn’t know any better, he’d have thought the sprite was trying to be cute _on purpose_.

Aster snorted.  “It’s not like I’m going to molest you or something like that.  And my season isn’t ‘til summer, you gumby.”

“Oh.  Right.  Of course,” Jack said softly, averting his eyes.  He almost sounded disappointed.

 _Now I’m just seeing things that ain’t there,_ Aster silently chided himself.  _Why’d he be disappointed anyway?  It’s not like he likes me or anything._

They walked the rest of the way to the burrow in silence.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Bunny’s house was…odd.

 _Burrow,_ Jack reminded himself.  _He called it a burrow._

The Pooka’s home was dug right into the side of a huge, rocky hill; it was large enough that it would be considered a small mountain in some parts of the world.  The rooms were large, open, and circular.  The ceilings were at least twenty feet above the floor.  The walls, floor, and ceiling were unworked stone, roughly hewn from the hillside.  Niches and shelves were carved directly into the – that’s interesting –

 _Serpentinite?_ Jack considered the ceiling above his head for a moment.  _Yes, yes it is.  With intermittent veins of non-metamorphosed olivine.  Where the hell did Bunny find such a huge ultramafic formation of igneous rock?_

Impressed despite himself, Jack then considered the sparse furniture.  Bunnymund had a table in what Jack took to be the dining room, with a half dozen chairs.  The kitchen counters were carved into the wall, with a lighter, pale marble surface that was smoothed and polished to a shine lain atop the serpentinite.  The – sitting room?  Or maybe a study, given the bookcases – had several more chairs and a couple of small tables.  A few other miscellaneous pieces of furniture were scattered throughout the place as well.

But for the life of him, Jack could not figure out what the medium brown (with hints of orange) extremely fine-grained wood was.  He’d have to ask Bunny later.  The burrow contained several other rooms as well, including a lavatory, which Bunny had referred to as a ‘loo.’  Jack was at least appreciative that he recognized _that_ slang term from his visits to Great Britain.

That left the bedroom, or ‘nest,’ to consider.

Where he was laying at the moment.

_Bunny’s bed._

Jack shivered a little at the thought.

 _Where_ they _would be sleeping.  Together._

Jack felt himself frosting over in a blush again.  He shook himself mentally.

 _Stop being silly_ , he silently chastised himself.

The room was like all the others, although it felt somehow smaller.  Cozier.  The nest itself was a huge pile of mixed straw and grass, atop which was a cushy layer of moss, which was covered, in turn, by a set of equally large linen sheets.  On top of that was an old, well-worn comforter that was still amazingly plush despite the apparent age it displayed.  Several dozen pillows in varying sizes and shapes were strewn liberally about the nest, some just big enough for Jack’s head, others large than his body.  All of the bedding materials were just so – so – _fluffy_.

Jack was distracted from his musing about the accommodations as Bunnymund returned, carrying even more blankets, pillows, and a large wooden chest of some sort.  The Pooka set the chest to one side for the moment and then dropped the additional blankets and pillows on the far end of the nest from Jack.

“Be right back, Frostbite,” the large rabbit said as he stepped out of the room again, returning a minute later with a small folding table and a wicker basket filled with a variety of plants Jack didn’t immediately recognize.

Jack watched in silence as Bunnymund carefully arranged the new blankets and about two dozen pillows into some sort of cushy mound and then blushed faintly once more when the Pooka picked him up and settled him amongst the small hill of fluffiness.

 _Oooooooh_ , Jack sighed mentally, finding the pile to be incredibly soft and comfy.

He was snapped out of his reverie when Bunnymund unceremoniously stripped North’s borrowed comforter off his naked body.  Jack squeaked again and blushed brightly, frost sprouting even in his hair, making it a spikey mess, but before Jack could think to cover his most private parts, Bunny had flipped the new blankets over him and tucked him in as if nothing untoward had occurred.

Too embarrassed to say anything, Jack watched Bunny set up the folding table at the foot of the bed and then move to retrieve the wooden chest.  By the time Bunnymund had settled on the bed next to him, he’d managed to dismiss all but the faintest traces of his lavender blush, the frost having evaporated completely.

Jack’s interest peaked when Bunny opened the chest and began pulling out various implements.  He immediately recognized a mortar and pestle, several beakers and related glassware, as well as a small brazier.  Several differently sized cups and tubes followed, along with a few knives, tweezers, and a couple of glass rods.

A small box was then removed from the chest; the wood stained a dark reddish brown.  Bunnymund opened it to reveal a beautiful, intricately crafted silver-plated pendulum scale of the classic two-pan beam balance style.  Jack could see an accompanying set of cylindrical gold-plated weights in the box, their masses, in grams, marked clearly on their sides, the etched numbers having been painted black for contrast.

“That’s a beautiful scale, Bunny,” Jack said quietly, unable to stay silent at the sight of the, for all intents and purposes, work of art.

The Pooka gave Jack a pleased smile, replying just as softly, the pride evident in his voice, “I made it myself a while back.  A _long_ while.  Hmm….”

“What?”

“I just realized that this scale is about as old as you, actually.  I reckon I made it about 1700.  Or thereabouts.  And I recall you saying you were about eighteen years old when you became a spirit.  318 years would put your birth about 1694.”

Jack nodded at Bunny’s inquiring look.  “Yeah, that’s what I found out.  Tooth has been helping me to remember my time as a mortal, before I di– became a spirit.”

Bunny gave Jack a quizzical, yet stern, look.

“You were about to say something else there, Frostbite.  Out with it.”

Jack looked contrite for a moment, before sighing.

“ _Fine_.  I’m surprised Tooth hasn’t said anything yet anyway.  I was going to say ‘before I died.’”

Bunny fumbled the basket of plants he was picking up off the floor, spilling the contents on the bed.  He gave Jack a shocked look before he gathered up the plants carefully and set the basket aside.  He then turned to Jack with a surprisingly gentle look on his face.

Bunny then asked tentatively, “Would you be willing to tell me about it?”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Bunnymund listened attentively as the sprite quietly and slowly related the tale of how he’d died saving his sister.  He realized that the frosty teen didn’t know that _dying_ to become a spirit was almost unheard of.  The most common means of becoming a spirit was sort of a natural evolution, like North or himself – you just found yourself one day mortal and then next a spirit because something intrinsic in the magic around your existence shifted.

For the four original Guardians, the Man in the Moon had had a hand in their transformations, sort of nudging them the last bit, but that wasn’t always required.  Mother Nature had evolved into her position naturally without any outside interference.  Aster had always thought that was somehow appropriate, given her demesne of influence.

After Jack finished his story, Bunny said, keeping his voice quiet, as befitted the mood, “Thank you for telling me.  That was right brave of you.”

Jack blushed at the compliment.

“It was a long time ago, ‘Roo.”

Bunny rolled his eyes at the nickname.

“Doesn’t matter, you galah.  It shows your true character and why Manny made you a spirit.  I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’d intended you ta be a Guardian the whole time.”

Jack’s eyes grew very large at Aster’s pronouncement.

“I mean it, kiddo,” Aster said, before continuing thoughtfully, “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, come to think of it.  Now’s a good a time as any.”

Jack nodded encouragingly, not wanting to interrupt the Pooka’s train of thought.

“I – I’m sorry for the way I treated you during the whole Pitch thing.  And – and, before.  I had no right.  You rightly deserve to be a Guardian.”

Jack apparently couldn’t help the wide, delighted smile that spread across his face.  It made Aster feel all sorts of funny inside, but he chalked it up to just being happy Jack was happy.

“Thank you, Bunny.”

“You’re welcome.  Although I still don't understand what the whole ’68 mess was about.  Why’d you do it?”

Jack blushed faintly as he replied, “I, um – I was being chased by a really nasty old Wendigo.  It was the first one I’d ever run into, so I didn’t know how to fight them yet.”

Aster frowned, but motioned for Jack to continue.

“Well, you see, I’ve noticed over the years that when my emotions run crazy, I tend to drag the weather along with them.  I was running scared in an almost blind panic.  The weather simply reflected my mood.”

Aster blinked at Jack in dawning realization.

“I, um – that is, you – you have no idea how happy I was to see you when you chased me down to berate me for almost ruining Easter; you scared the monster off so quickly I don’t think you even knew it was there.  I almost didn’t mind the lecture, even,” Jack finished, blushing brightly as he averted his eyes.

 _Well, aren’t I a right idiot,_ Aster reprimanded himself mentally.  _I didn’t even consider that the sprite might have had a reason besides causing mischief.  We really_ didn’t _know him back then, did we?_

“Frostbite.  Jack,” Aster amended, pleased when Jack’s proper name garnered him a startled glance.  “I’m sorry.  I thought you were just trying to be a pain my arse.”

“It’s okay.  I understand, Bunny.”

Aster smiled in response.

Jack grinned mischievously, before saying slyly, “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop pranking you.”

Bunnymund let out a long-suffering sigh and shook his head as he turned back to the table, snagging the basket on the way.

“What are you doing?”

Aster spared a glance at the sprite, before focusing on trimming leaves off of their stems with a tiny set of shears.

“I’m making you some special medicines ta help you heal quickly.  You should be fully healed in a day or two, assuming no complications.  Which reminds me,” he explained slowly, as he turned to pull out a syringe before continuing, “I’m going to need a sample of your blood ta test the medicine on ta make sure there are no adverse reactions.”

Jack grimaced, but presented his arm, averting his eyes.

“Okay, but hurry up.  I don’t like needles.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ve never been stuck before.”

“True, but I’ve seen doctors do it to children and I couldn’t watch either.”

Bunny chuckled as he examined Jack’s arm for a good vein.

“Pansy.”

“Kangaroo.”

“All done!”

“Wait, what?” Jack said as Aster swabbed the spot with a cotton ball coated in a sweet-smelling liquid.  “How did I not feel that?”

“Special Pooka topical anesthetic.  Dulls all sensation, even touch and pressure.  Now hold that cotton ball there for a tick.  The medicine on it will heal that spot right up.”

Aster turned back to his workstation for a couple minutes, weighing, grinding, measuring.  He then pulled out a small waste bin from the chest, gesturing with it at Jack.

“You can toss the cotton ball in here now.  Your arms good ta go.”

Jack complied, marveling at how there was no hint of a mark on his arm at all.  Bunny set the bin aside.

“Now, you should get some rest while I work.  I’ve got something here that should help you get to sleep,” the Pooka instructed as he removed a small purple pouch from his bandolier that Jack hadn’t noticed until now.  It was decorated with small golden stars and crescent moons.

“What’s that?” Jack asked.

Aster pulled out a pinch of golden dust and tossed it at Jack’s face.

“Some of Sandy’s dream sand.  Wouldn’t want you to have bad dreams while I was caring for you, now would I?”

Jack was still smiling when he passed out a moment later.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Impressiva, Bunny. Ego amat. -- My (probably poor) attempt at Latin. "Impressive, Bunny. I love (it)."
> 
> As for North's Russian (thanks Google!):  
> Быстро! -- Quickly!  
> А мать была хомяком и Отцу вашему пахло, как козел! -- And your mother was a hamster and your father smelled like a goat!
> 
> Спасибо. Теперь уходи, пока я дразнить вас во второй раз. -- Thank you. Now go away before I taunt you a second time.
> 
> I make no apologies for the slight abuse of Monty Python quotes!


	5. Jack, Exposed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like posting another chapter. Y'know, because **happy fun times.**

Half a day later, Bunnymund was just finishing the final distillation of the last of the medications he was preparing for Jack.  He’d already tested samples of each against Jack’s curiously-colored blood and had been pleased to find that no unusual reactions occurred.

Aster had made a jar of a white herbal paste that would quickly heal the sprite’s cuts, bruises, and abrasions.  There were several vials of varying colors that would serve to mend bones and handle any other internal injuries Jack had suffered.  As well, there was another, smaller jar of a lightly scented lilac paste that he had made to mend Jack’s sprained ankle.  Just as he finished capping off the last vial, he was startled by a quiet moan from the still sleeping winter spirit.

Carefully setting the medicines aside and moving the folding table away from the bed, Bunny turned to examine his youthful charge.  Jack’s skin was flushed a pale lavender all the way down his neck.  Frost covered his cheeks and ran halfway down his neck as well.  Thinking he might be running some sort of fever, Aster placed a paw lightly to Jack’s forehead, but the boy was a cold as ever.

Jack shifted in his sleep and moaned lightly again, his legs twisting the sheets as he writhed.  Just as Aster moved to wake the sprite, thinking the sand might have somehow worn off and allowed him to drift into an unpleasant dream, Jack spoke quietly in his sleep.  He froze.

“Mmmm, yeah, like that,” the sprite murmured breathlessly, shifting sensually under the covers.

Aster’s eyebrows climbed his forehead and his mouth fell open in shock as he withdrew his hand reflexively, as quickly as if he’d touched a hot pan.

 _Oh_.

_Ah._

_Right.  I should – I should go,_ Bunny thought as he mentally shook himself from his stupor.

Carefully picking himself up from off the bed, Bunnymund eased around the folding table and quietly padded towards the door.  He froze, still as an undisturbed pond, when Jack moaned _his name._

“Bun _ny!_ ” the sprite whined, licentiously drawing out the last syllable.

Aster turned his head very slowly, not daring to move any other muscles, to gaze at the sprite once more.  Just to check if he was awake and messing with him.  In a sexual way.  For some crazy reason.

 _Right_.

Jack bit his lip as he stifled another sleepy, sexually charged moan.

Bunnymund kenned lightly at Jack.  His brain activity proved quite clearly that the teen was sleeping, very, very aroused, and dreaming deeply.

 _About him_.

 _Jack was having a wet dream about_ him _!_

Bunnymund shuddered as he felt a warm curl of arousal at the thought, at the sight the pale sprite presented, and most _especially_ at the sounds he was making.

 _I_ really _should go,_ he told himself sternly, inching towards the door, unable to quite tear his eyes away from Jack as the teen _writhed_ in his nest.

That thought drew Aster up short.

 _His nest_.

He shuddered again as a fresh wave of arousal pooled in his stomach.  His cock began to peek out of his sheath.

 _Whoa!  Down boy!_ Aster chided himself, mentally willing his burgeoning erection to go away.

He turned valiantly to go –

“Bun _ny!_ ” Jack moaned again, once more drawing out the last syllable.

The moan was followed by the sound of rustling sheets as the teen no doubt writhed sinfully again.

Bunnymund’s head fell against the doorway, making a soft ‘thunk’ as his erection ignored his efforts and pushed fully from his sheath.  He helplessly peeked over his shoulder and his brain promptly short-circuited.

Jack had kicked the sheets off the bed.

Aster was greeted by the sight of seeming miles of pale, unblemished skin, nearly as white as the snow the sprite was so fond of spreading, the sight marred only slightly by the white bandages that encircled various parts of his body.  His skin was flushed in places to an ethereal lavender hue, sparkling faintly in the light due to the frost ‘blush’ that accompanied it.  The teen’s erection was standing stiffly at attention, twitching irregularly and leaking seminal fluids in small, intermittent spurts.  Fascinatingly, Jack’s icy, lithe body was completely devoid of hair of any kind, smooth as the day he was born.

Jack had thrown his arms above his head, his snowy hair noticeably mussed, and was haphazardly gripping several pillows in a death grip as he writhed again and turned slightly to the side, inadvertently bringing his erection into contact with a large, heavy silk pillow, which he began to lightly thrust against reflexively as he let out bone-meltingly sinful whimper.

Completely losing the last shreds of his willpower at the erotic scene playing out before him, Aster turned around and leaned back against the stone wall.  His left paw immediately grasped his own erect, throbbing member.  He stifled the moan that simple act ripped from him by biting down on his other paw.

He automatically matched the pace with which he rubbed himself to Jack’s instinctive thrusting, although Aster quickly found himself already halfway to orgasm, he was so turned on by Jack’s noises.  The sprite then whimpered once more, thrusting more quickly and erratically by the moment.  Bunny matched Jack’s increasing pace, and then –

 _“Aster!_ ” Jack groaned lewdly one final time as he came.

That final sinfully delicious utterance of his given name caused Bunnymund to likewise come undone, covering the floor in front of him with his seed as Jack likewise made a mess of the pillow he was thrusting against.  Aster slumped against the wall, his penis slowly softening in his paw and retreating back into his sheath, panting heavily.

And then, like most males who reached completion while they slept, Jack Frost promptly woke up.

_Oh bloody hell._

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack woke suddenly, jarred from his amazingly erotic dream of being drilled senseless by Bunnymund, his piercing blue eyes snapping open to stare down at the mess he’d made on one of the pillows he was laying amongst.  It took another couple of seconds for his brain to catch up and remind him where he was.

Bunny’s nest.

And, last he remembered, _Bunny had been in the room._

Jack squeaked in embarrassment and quickly looked to where the Pooka had been when he’d fallen asleep and then sighed in relief.  Bunnymund wasn’t there.

Then he heard the sound of heavy breathing nearby.

Jack turned to look, fearing the worst, only to freeze in place, wide-eyed, at the sight of Bunnymund leaning against the wall.  Holding his half-hard cock, which still had a small string of cum dangling tantalizingly from it.  Wide, shocked blue eyes met equally wide and shocked green.

Neither moved an inch.

“So, um, yeah,” Bunny said tentatively after a minute, completely mortified, “this is, ah…”

“Awkward.  Yeah, um,” Jack replied as his blush returned full force, the frost once again messily spiking his sleep-tousled hair.

A minute of silence passed before Bunnymund sighed and let go of himself, stepping away from the wall.

“I’ll…be…right back.  With a…a towel.  Yeah….” He said absentmindedly as he stepped out of the room and into the loo down the hall.

Jack heard the faucet run water for a moment and then the Pooka returned, wiping himself clean with one damp hand towel while tossing a second to Jack.  Jack caught it reflexively and cleaned himself and the pillow up as best he could.  He froze the moisture that had seeped into the pillow and mopped that up too.  At least the pillow wasn’t damaged.

Bunnymund collected both hand towels and, after scrubbing his own cum off the floor and depositing the hand towels in a wicker laundry basket in the corner, hesitantly sat down on the bed next to Jack.  The Pooka offered the fallen bed sheets to Jack, who gave a strained smile as he wrapped himself tightly in the blankets.

They sat in silence for another minute.

“Frostbite.  Jack.  We need to talk, mate,” Aster ventured softly.

Jack tried for a joke, saying cheekily, “I’d apologize, but I think you enjoyed the show too much.”

Bunnymund gave a faint grin, and then said, “So.  I’m not sure how to say this gently, so I’m afraid I’ll have to be blunt about it.”

Jack nodded encouragingly, still blushing brightly.

“When I noticed that you were – aroused,” he began, grimacing at his word choice in embarrassment, “I tried to sneak out of the room to give you some privacy.”

Jack gave the Pooka a confused look and asked, “But you stayed.  Why?”

“I was almost out of the room when – when – you moaned _my_ _name_.”

_No!_

_No no._

_No no no._

_Oh fucking hell, no,_ Jack thought frantically as he began to hyperventilate.  _I didn’t!  I couldn’t!  Not now, not when he was finally being decent to me!_

An alarmed look passed over Aster’s face before he gathered the winter sprite in his arms and rocked him gently, murmuring soothing nonsense as he rubbed a hand up and down Jack’s back in an attempt to calm the panicky teen.

“Calm down, Frostbite.  It’s not that bad.  I mean, I’m kind of flattered and all, but it’s not the end of the world.”

Jack, having forgotten himself in his panic began babbling.

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry!  I can’t help it!  I’m sorry!  I know I’m not supposed to feel this way –”

Aster placed a paw over Jack’s mouth.  It took the sprite several seconds to stop moving his mouth.

Then Aster asked, “Feel what way?”

Jack’s eyes shot wide open, realizing his slip too late.  He flinched and tried to push away from the Pooka, but Aster wasn’t having any of Jack’s hysterics and held on tight.  Jack finally broke down, sobbing, against Bunnymund’s chest.  He then gently began smoothing a paw down the back of Jack’s head.

It took several more minutes for Jack to calm down enough that Aster ventured the question again.

“Jack.  It’s okay, mate.  You can tell me anything.  Now, what way do you feel that you seem to think is inappropriate?”

Jack was silent for so long, Aster had opened his mouth to ask again, when Jack blurted out, “I like you.”

Bunny paused with his mouth wide open.  He closed it with an audible ‘clack’ after a moment.  Jack chanced a forlorn glance at Bunnymund’s face.

“I see –” Bunny started to say, before having to struggle to keep the winter sprite in his arms again.

“I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry –”

Bunny slapped a hand back over Jack’s mouth and forced him to look at the Pooka.

“Jack!  Listen for one god-damned minute in your life, you crazy drongo!”

Wide eyed, Jack nodded faintly, never breaking eye contact with Aster.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.  I just never realized you felt that way.”

Bunnymund gently released Jack from his hold.  Jack pulled back slightly and then promptly burrowed under the covers, only his hair still visible amongst the mess of blankets and pillows.  Bunny sighed.

“If it makes you feel better, I’ll allow you to hide, but you still have to answer my questions.  Deal?”

A muffled “Okay” was his answer.

“Right then.  So, when you say that you ‘like’ me, you mean that you’re attracted to me, correct?”

A muffled “Yes.”

“How long have you felt this way?”

Mumble.

“I’m sorry, even my ears couldn’t pick that up.  You’ll have to speak up.”

Pause.

A louder mumble.

“Frostbite,” Aster said warningly.

A longer pause.

A muffled “’68.”

Bunny paused himself in surprise, mouth half open to ask his next question.  After a moment, Jack peeked one bright eye out from under the covers and helplessly giggled at the expression on Bunnymund’s face.  That broke Bunny out his stupor.

“That long?” he asked wonderingly, voice barely more than a whisper.

Jack nodded, one watery eye still visible.

“I – I need a minute to think.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

 _The sprite_ likes _me.  Me!  Since ’68 even!_ Bunny thought, the shock of this discovery echoing through his mind.  _What do I do?  I mean I – I like him as a mate, sure, but as a_ mate _?_   _Okay, okay.  Let’s think this through._

Bunny thought about how strong and courageous Jack had become in the last year.  He thought about how much Jack’s first believers meant to him and how the teen went out of his way to take care of them.  He thought about the sacrifice that Jack had made for his sister.

He thought about the little episode just a quarter hour past.  How he, E. Aster Bunnymund, had been so thoroughly enchanted by the sprite’s body.  His looks.  His noises.

 _Him_.

Bunny thought about all the times that the Guardian of Fun had annoyed, harassed, bothered, or otherwise pissed off the Pooka.  Looking at them from this new perspective, he found he could view almost all of those acts as attention seeking.  Besides that first time in ’68, which the sprite had already explained, he’d never truly made a complete mess of things, just enough of one to get Bunny to pay attention to him, even if it was in anger and annoyance.

Since Jack had become a Guardian, the pranks had gotten less crazy, if no less creative, and he found that he was willing to grant the teen much more leeway than he had previously, understanding at that time that it was a natural outgrowth of the sprite’s own center.  Just as many of the things he did were a result of his center.

His center.

Hope.

His right ear twitched.  Of course.

Reaching out a paw slowly, so as not to startle the sprite, he gently placed it on Jack’s head and concentrated.  Kenning via physical contact was a fair bit more intimate and not something he had ever done lightly, but this was important.

_Especially to Jack._

The first thing he noticed were a couple of bruised organs, but his already prepared medicines were sufficient to take care of that, since he had already suspected that would be the case.  Gently probing deeper, he found Jack’s emotional core.

It was complete and utter chaos.  Bunny gently began petting Jack’s head to try and calm the sprite’s nerves, and that seemed to do the trick after a couple minutes.

 _There.  There_ it was.  Bright, so bright as to be almost blinding to his senses.  _Hope_ that this wouldn’t change their friendship for the worse.   _Hope_ that Bunny might return his feelings.  _Hope_ that they might have a future together.

Jack _loved_ him.

The sprite was desperately trying to not admit that fact to himself, but the feeling was right there.  Overwhelmingly so.

 _Beautiful,_ Aster thought, awed and humbled by such a strong emotion being directed at him.

He didn’t feel that he deserved it, but he now knew that he would be willing to try to live up to Jack’s expectations.

It felt _right_.

Aster smiled at the sprite.

“Jack –”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

 _Here it comes,_ Jack thought forlornly.  _The rejection_.

“—I think I’d be willing to give us a chance.  If you think there can be an ‘us.’”

_Wait, what?_

Jack’s head popped out of the pile of blankets, not unlike a meerkat alerted to a predator’s presence.

“You – you’d be with me?  _Me?_ ”

“Yes,” Aster replied simply, still smiling gently.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was unprepared for the bundle of ecstatic joy that Jack became at that one simple word.

He was promptly buried in a pile of blankets and one gloriously happy Jack, who was hugging him fiercely.

It felt _right_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaannnddd there was smut. And fluff.
> 
> There was smut. Huh. Much earlier than I'd originally thought it would show up in the fic, but the flow of the story demanded it naow! So...
> 
> Smut happened. XD


	6. Dr. Bunnymund, Part Deux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter tried to run away with me. I've had to split it in two, it got so long, so there will be one more interlude chapter before the fighting starts again, I'm afraid.
> 
> Also, some light smut happened. It wasn't planned. The boys are _insatiable_.
> 
> In case anyone's curious, I spent much of this chapter listening to Storm Warning, by Hunter Hayes, on repeat. God, that guy is _hot_.

Jack decided that jumping into a hug with Bunny may not have been the smartest of ideas about a minute after he initiated the move.  It was at that point that his ribs decided to remind him that they were, in fact, quite damaged.

“Ow,” Jack groaned into Bunny’s chest fur.

Jack heard Bunny sigh above his head.

“You forgot you were injured, didn't you?” the Pooka asked as he gently manhandled Jack back into a reclining position amongst the pillows.

Jack blushed lightly, murmuring, “Yeah.”

“My medicines will fix you right up,” Bunnymund replied, grinning.  “You blush very prettily for me now, and I’ll take good care of you.”

Jack’s lavender blush deepened sharply, frost spiking his hair again.

Bunny chuckled.  “There’s that adorable little blush.  I guess I’d better get to fixing you up then, mate.”

“Bunny! Stop making fun of me!” Jack whined, blushing even harder.

Bunny chuckled again, but didn’t reply as he repositioned the folding table and began packing his laboratory supplies back into the chest.  After a few minutes of silence, Jack managed to get his blushing under control again.

“Bunny?”

“Yes, mate?”

“You – you never explained why you were – were _masturbating_ ,” Jack asked hesitantly, finishing the sentence in a rush and blushing anew at his word choice.

Aster froze as he was putting the balance scale, all boxed back up, into the chest.  His ears went flat against the back of his head for a moment in embarrassment, before sighing and completing his interrupted action.  He sat still for another moment more afterward, before turning a heated gaze on Jack.

Jack squeaked.

“You try not to touch yourself when you have to listen to your _own name_ moaned aloud by someone as attractive as you are, writhing sinfully in your own _nest_ and see how you do.”

Jack squeaked again, flushing brightly.

“I need you to drink these vials,” Bunny instructed, still pinning Jack in place with the heat in his eyes, and presented three vials.  “First the red, then the green, and then the blue.  In that order, got it Frostbite?”

“Y–yeah.  RGB.  Got it,” Jack replied, dutifully swallowing each vial in turn.  “Blegh.”

Bunny chuckled as he finally broke eye contact, turning to pick up a small jar of lilac-colored paste.  The sprite was just beginning to relax back into the pillows when he felt the blankets covering his legs shift.  Jack whimpered when a warm, furry paw smoothed up the length of his left leg and then back down, coming to rest on the bandage around his ankle.  The other paw quickly joined it, carefully undoing the bandage and removing it from his slightly swollen joint.

Aster smirked at him.  “Mmm, yes.  Such nice, pale skin.  So sensitive.  You could be a lot of fun, Jackie boy, if you react to just a simple touch like that.  I must admit, I’d never thought about it before today, but you really are a very attractive specimen of your species.”

Jack blushed, stifling a moan as Bunny began to gently rub the lilac paste into the skin of his left foot, ankle, and calf.  It felt _so good_ to be touched after three centuries of nothing.

“I – I’ve not really been touched much in the last 300 years,” he admitted, flushing a deeper lavender and frosting over slightly.

Aster paused in his ministrations for a moment to look Jack in the eye.  Jack suppressed a whimper at the lack of motion.

“Seriously, mate?” he queried, before continuing to rub the paste into Jack’s skin.

_Ooooh._

“Yeah – yeah.  Um,” Jack stammered, distracted as he was by the Pooka’s warm paws rubbing all over his foot.  “Um.  The – the first time I was touched after I became a spirit was when the Snow Queen visited me a few nights later.  But that was just the slightest of touches to my cheek.  After –”

Jack had to pause again to stifle another moan as Bunny moved to massaging the paste into his calf.

“After?” Bunny prompted, his grin saying that he knew full well why Jack was stammering so much.

“A–after that, the next time I was touched was when y–you slammed me against that tree in ’68.”

Bunny froze.  Jack helplessly whimpered at the loss of sensation.

Jack then watched, wide-eyed, as Bunny shifted forwards to lick and nuzzle his forehead for a moment, before pulling back and whispering, “I’m sorry we left you alone for so long.”

Jack averted his eyes, his emotions overcoming him sufficiently that he couldn’t look at the Pooka.

“It’s okay.  It’s in the past now.  C–can you move your hands again?” he whispered shyly.

When nothing happened for a long moment, Jack glanced towards Bunny through his fringe.  Bunnymund shuddered before continuing to massage the paste into Jack’s calf.

“Don’t do that, mate.”

“Do what?” Jack asked, turning to look at Aster fully.

“Look at me like that.  Unless you want me to take you right here, _right now_ , your injuries be damned,” Bunnymund said heatedly, looking Jack straight in the eye with lust-darkened eyes.

Jack squeaked and averted his eyes, blushing furiously, the frost now running all the way down his neck and partway down his chest.  Aster snickered darkly, continuing to massage the healing paste into Jack’s injury.  Jack spent the next several minutes desperately trying not to squirm or make any further noises, although he was only partially successful in the latter task.

The sprite sighed, partially in relief and partially in dismay, when Bunnymund finished with his sprained ankle.  The Pooka stepped out of the room for a minute to rinse his paws in the loo.  Jack cautiously twisted his left ankle in several directions.  It still hurt a bit, but the swelling had receded and the bruises were yellowing already.

_Awesome._

Bunny returned, drying his paws in a towel as he walked back to join Jack on the bed.  After tossing the towel in the laundry basket, he capped the jar of lilac paste and set it aside.  He then lifted a second, larger jar of a pale white paste and examined it thoughtfully, turning it this way and that.  He then shifted his gaze to consider the winter sprite, bouncing the jar in his paw lightly.  Jack fidgeted beneath that intense gaze almost immediately.

“What?” Jack asked, feeling yet another blush stain his cheeks.

Bunny smirked.

“This paste is for all of your cuts, abrasions, and other minor injuries.  I’ll have to put it _all over_ you.”

Jack whimpered.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Thirty minutes later, Jack was practically writhing in his pillowy confines as Bunnymund finished applying the last of the white paste to a dark bruise just above and to the right of his tailbone.  The sprite was trying desperately not to thrust his renewed and almost painfully throbbing erection into the pillow beneath his hips, with only partial success.

Bunnymund suddenly stopped touching him and pulled back, declaring brightly, “All done!”

Jack whimpered helplessly and glanced at the Pooka over his shoulder, a seemingly permanent lavender and frost blush staining his cheeks.

Aster shuddered at the look Jack was giving him, but held himself in check, politely inquiring, as if it wasn’t perfectly obvious, “Is there something else you need, Frostbite?”

Jack half-hummed, half-whimpered in the affirmative, too far gone to care anymore about embarrassing himself.

“Well, speak up, mate.  Tell me what you want.  I can’t help you if you don't tell me,” Bunny stated, a sly smirk gracing his lips.

“P–please!”

“Please what?”

“P–please touch me!” Jack all but whined.

“Well, since you asked so nicely….”

Bunny leaned forward, resting his furred chest against Jack’s tensed back, his half-hard cock resting in the valley between Jack’s taut buttocks, before reaching one paw around to gently tease Jack’s pulsing manhood.  All it took was a few light, teasing touches of his fingers, trailing them lightly up and down the winter sprite’s surprisingly warm length, and Jack came undone with a deep, bone-meltingly erotic groan.  The teen almost immediately collapsed into the pillows, panting heavily.

Bunnymund chuckled deeply as he slowly pulled away from Jack and set himself to cleaning up the rest of the medical supplies and discarded bandages.

“How was it for you?”

“I think,” Jack panted, even as he shot Bunny a slightly sheepish grin over his shoulder, “I think I’d like you to be my permanent ‘doctor.’”

“Mmm, I’ll take right good care of you, mate,” Aster replied with a smirk.  “For now, however, you need rest while those medicines do their thing.”

“But what about you?” Jack asked, gesturing in the general direction of Bunny’s groin.

“Eh, another time, Frostbite.  When you’re good and healed.  We really shouldn’t have done as much as we did, but I hadn’t expected your skin to be so sensitive and it wouldn’t have been fair to leave you hanging.”

“Okay, if you think it best,” Jack replied, pouting a little despite himself.

“Besides,” Bunny added, moving forward to nuzzle Jack’s hair, “When you’re all healed up, we can see if you can keep up with a _bunny_.”

Jack shuddered at the suggestive tone and the multitude of ideas that it brought to his mind.

Bunnymund moved away from Jack after a several more seconds of nuzzling, and then asked, his expression turning serious for a moment, “You sure you’re comfortable with all that’s happened so far?  I don’t want to push you beyond your comfort zone, mate.”

Jack smiled and nodded.

“ _Aster_ ,” he said, emphasizing Bunny’s given name to drive home his point, “I started hero-crushing on you after ’68, which evolved into full-blown desire for your attention, any way I could get it.  I find so many things attractive about you that I wouldn’t know where to start.  Now you’ve offered me the thing I wanted most and thought I could never get.  I’m not sure I’m quite ready for the, ah, ‘main event,’ but everything that’s happened so far is _more_ than okay.  As you might say, it’s abso-bloody-lutely _fantastic_.”

“Bonzer there, mate,” Bunny replied, extremely pleased.

Jack’s right eye twitched.

“Now you’re just making up words.”

Bunny shook his head fondly, grinning all the while, as he set about cleaning up the area and getting Jack settled down for another rest.  He then went to lie at the far end of the nest from Jack, as twilight was beginning to darken the evening into night.

Jack was having none of that, so he pouted.  When that didn’t get him anything more than an amused glance, he started whining.

Loudly.

“Bun _ny_!”

A pleased smirk was the reward for his efforts, but Bunnymund did move to settle in next to Jack, pulling the sprite against his warm, fluffy, and pleasantly muscular chest.

Jack sighed in contentment and snuggled in carefully.

Bunny chuckled quietly.

_Bastard_ , Jack thought in exasperated fondness as he started to drift off, surrounded by the warmth he’d long desired.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

After a couple more days of treatment – and several more hand jobs from his favorite Pooka – Jack was fully healed.  Despite having been promised a swift recovery under Bunny’s tender care, he was still astonished at how quickly he’d healed, especially his broken and cracked ribs.  Phil had shown up the morning after Jack had been brought to the Warren, his hoodie and deer-skin pants mended and laundered.  Jack hadn’t been allowed to put them on until he was fully healed.

He found that he didn’t mind so much.  Especially with how Bunny watched him predatorily as he pranced about the burrow, his sprained ankle having been the first major injury to heal.  Jack finished dressing and stepped outside the burrow for the first time in nearly three days, snagging his staff from where it had been stored in an umbrella stand by the front door.  Not that Bunny owned any umbrellas; Jack had the sneaking suspicion that the Pooka had made the umbrella stand shortly after he'd arrived, just for his staff.  The thought made him feel a bit fuzzy inside.

Exiting the burrow, he was greeted by the sight of Bunnymund performing his morning katas, swiftly and flawlessly.

_Mmm_ , Jack hummed to himself, entranced.  _Now that’s a sight._

Jack had the Wind gently lift him up onto a small ledge that jutted out from the exterior of the burrow and reclined, his staff held loosely in his right hand against his side, the crook coming to rest just above his head.  His left foot dangled over the edge and he began to lazily swing it back and forth while he watched.  Unfortunately, as lovely a sight as he found Bunnymund maneuvering about the field in front of the burrow to be, he quickly got bored.

And a bored Jack Frost was a mischievous Jack Frost.

A sly smirk gracing his features, Jack quietly formed a snowball and, with a precision born of long practice, threw the missile directly at the back of Bunnymund’s head.

Without breaking his kata, and somehow without Jack seeing the move, a boomerang flashed through the morning light, neatly slicing the snowball in two.  The two halves of the snowball, having lost much of their momentum and cohesion upon being struck, fell to the grass-covered field with a twin quiet ‘plops.’  Bunnymund likewise caught the boomerang in a graceful move that seamlessly flowed out of his current kata, stored it, and continued with his practice.

Jack’s right eye twitched as he caught a glimpse of a smug grin on the Pooka’s face.

_Oh_ really _?  Well two can play at that game._

Springing from his perch into the air, Jack allowed himself to drift through the air in a generally parallel direction to Bunny’s current movement.  Swinging his staff in a wide arc before him, he fired several more snowballs at the Pooka.  Bunny responded as before, gracefully flipping through a rather complex maneuver and letting both his boomerangs fly.  All but one of the snowballs were destroyed by the boomerangs, while the last missed by inches as Bunnymund’s aforementioned maneuver allowed him to sail effortlessly right over its path.

Bunnymund then caught his twin boomerangs and crouched low, ready to leap at a moment’s notice.

“That all you got, Frostbite?” he taunted.

Laughing, Jack whirled into a flurry of spins, flinging several dozen snowballs out, rapid fire.  Bunny’s boomerangs flashed, and over half the snowballs were destroyed before they’d even covered half the distance between them.  Jack watched in breathless anticipation as the remaining missiles flew unerringly at their target.

And they would totally have hit too, if Bunnymund hadn’t rolled to the side, pulled a previously hidden eight-foot staff out of the grass and gracefully deflected the remaining missiles harmlessly to the side, before dropping into a fighting crouch, the staff cradled in the crook of his elbow, ready for the next strike.  To add insult to injury, he caught both boomerangs one-handed, stashing the first with blinding speed before likewise catching and storing the second.

“Oh, it’s _on_ now, Kangaroo!”

Firing another large volley of snowballs at the Pooka, which he deflected effortlessly once again with his whirling staff, Jack flew in low behind the volley and launched a surprise attack with the crook of his staff at Bunny’s legs.  He caught one of the Pooka’s overly-large feet with the crook and spun around Bunny’s body, pulling the foot out from under him and causing him to fall.

Bunny swiftly turned the fall into a roll however, the momentum of which he use to launch himself into a flip away from Jack’s current position, twisting as he flew through the air to throw a boomerang.  Jack barely managed to deflect the attack before performing a flip of his own and making a sliding three-point landing, staff held high and at ready over and behind him.  Bunnymund caught the returned boomerang and stored it.

They traded exhilarated grins and charged.

Staff met staff with resounding clacks and cracks, move and counter-move performed quickly and efficiently, each maneuver flowing flawlessly into the next.  After trading several dozen blows, every single one blocked by their opponent’s own stave, Bunny leapt over a sweeping strike and summersaulted behind Jack, who cartwheeled into the air in turn, narrowly dodging the butt strike of Bunny’s staff.  They landed about a dozen feet apart, each twisting in the air to ensure they were facing their opponent.

Bunny whirled his stave through the air, coming to rest once again the crouched fighting pose, staff at ready in the crook of his elbow.  Jack held his staff, crook first, before him, as if it were a spear, ready to thrust.  Both were panting lightly from the exertion.  Jack was grinning ear to ear and Bunny’s answering smile was just as bright.

“I can see that you’ve studied Okinawan boujutsu, Frostbite.  Very impressive; I’ve never thought you’d the patience for it,” Aster declared, relaxing into a standing position, leaning lightly on his staff.  “I like how you incorporate the crook into your attacks.  You nearly disarmed me twice.”

Jack flashed Bunny a bright smile at the compliments, before replying, “If you figure I spend roughly half the year working with winter weather that still leaves me 150 years’ worth of time to kill.  I didn’t spend _all_ my spare time goofing off or hanging out in classrooms and libraries.  I visited several dojos in Japan after the Meiji Restoration and a couple in the Ryukyu Kingdom before it was reconfigured as the Ryukyu Province in 1872.  My last educational visit was right after it was incorporated as Okinawa Prefecture in 1879.”

Bunny nodded thoughtfully as Jack spoke, motioning for Jack to continue speaking while also indicating that Jack should follow him to the nearby creek for a drink.

“So you learned Japanese when you were there, I take it?”

“Yeah, which is why some of the younger Japanese spirits I’ve run into in recent years think I sound funny – my accent’s over a century old and heavily influenced by the Okinawan dialect,” Jack continued with a shrug.  “Most of the native spirits speak with a Tokyo dialect, with the notable exception of the ones who live far from civilization, unless their older than about the early 17th century.  Then they usually speak with a Kansai dialect.  The older ones are very pretentious bastards too.”

Bunnymund chuckled as they arrived at the stream, pausing to take a drink.  Jack followed suit.

“Where’d you pick up the crook maneuvers?”

“I adapted my disarm techniques from Okinawan karate forms utilizing the kama,” Jack answered off-handedly.

Bunny nodded thoughtfully.  “Impressive.  I can see the similarities in the technique now that you mention it.  I noticed you have pretty good footwork, but there’s room for improvement.  You also never tried to use your legs to attack me.”

“Yeah, I’ve been meaning to get better at that, since I can’t always be in the air.”

Bunny flashed Jack a grin.  “I could help you with that, if you want.  I’ve got lots of time on my hands right now; the Easter season doesn’t kick in heavily for me until January, when my googie flowers start budding.”

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Jack demurred, flattered by the offer.

“You?  Not wanting to impose?  Ha!  Seriously, mate.  I usually spend this time of year practicing my arts or traveling the world looking for new colors and designs to incorporate into my work.  I can spare you some sparring time, especially given the problems you’re facing right now.”

The first reminder of the outside world since he’d come to the Warren brought Jack up short.  The sprite ran a hand through his hair as he sighed gustily.

“ _Crap_.  I really don’t know what to do about the whole ‘open season’ thing.  I can usually fight off the lesser spirits – when they don’t gang up on me like they did on Sunday, at any rate – but I don’t think I’m a match for Boreas or Vetr, let alone General Winter himself.  And how am I supposed to spread my snow if I can’t go ten feet without being ambushed?”

“Well, we can work on your fighting skills while you crash here.  I told you no one can get in here unless I allow it.  As for your snow duties, I’ve asked Seraphina to take care of them for the time being.”

Jack blinked.  “Who’s Seraphina?”

“We are,” replied a light, lilting female voice from behind Jack.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay for an impromptu history lesson!


	7. A Little Exposition Between Friends Never Hurt Anyone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, and there is some angst.
> 
> Interestingly, right as I started writing the angsty part, my music rolled over to Remember When, by Alan Jackson. Yeah, that set the mood perfectly.
> 
> Edit, 4/8/13: After reviewing what I wrote late last night, I noticed a discrepancy in the exposition with other parts of my timeline. This has been corrected, along with a few other typos.

Jack about jumped out of his skin, ending up several feet in the air above and behind Bunnymund.  He resolutely refused to acknowledge that the squeal that echoed around the glen when he jumped had originated from him.

Several feet behind where Jack had been standing, a tall, lithe woman was materializing out of thin air, her flowing robes and dark, sinuous, impossibly long hair seeming to fade to mist at their edges.  Her regal bearing and overall appearance were well complemented by her long, beautiful face.  Her dark eyes sparkled with mischief.

Bunnymund was snickering.  Jack glared at the back of his head.

“We haven’t met before, frostling.  Our name is Seraphina.  We are also sometimes known as Mother Nature.”

Jack gaped, wide-eyed.

“Forgive him, Sera.  He doesn't deal well with surprises,” Bunnymund replied in Jack’s stead when it became clear Jack was speechless.

“Oh, we are well aware of that fact.  We have watched the frostling from afar for such a very long time.  It was ever so much fun surprising him.  We can see why Father enjoys it so much.  Now if he would just be willing to give up this dreadful ‘boogeyman’ business, we might deign to speak with him again.  Did you know that it has been almost twelve thousand years since we last spoke?”

Jack remained speechless, still in the air above and behind Bunnymund.

“I remember that last conversation quite well, Sera, as you well know, since it was right after Pitch destroyed my entire race,” the Pooka replied with a growl.

“We suppose you would, at that.  Forgive us for reminding you of darker times.  We simply came to check on Jack’s progress.  Given the display a short while ago, we can see that he is back to full health.  That is good, for we sense his skills will soon be tested.  Boreas and Vetr have been searching everywhere trying to find him, you know.”

“I suspected as much, Sera.  If that is all, I think I need to do a little explaining to the Frostbite,” Bunnymund returned, flashing a smirk over his shoulder at Jack.

“Yes, of course.  We shall withdraw for now.  Call for us if you have need of our presence again.”

Mother Nature favored Jack with a faint smile before her form dispersed into the mist it appeared to be made of once more.

Bunny reached up and snagged Jack’s foot, reeling him down to earth and into a loose embrace.  Jack shivered once she disappeared completely and then looked up at Bunny, blinking slowly.

“You all right there, Frostbite?”

Jack nodded faintly, before asking hesitantly, “So…”

“Yes?”

“That was Mother Nature?”

Bunny nodded, smirk firmly in place.

"Frostling?"

"Means she likes you."

“You asked her to take over for me while I dealt with everything?”

Nod.

“She’s kind of scary.”

Bunny shrugged.  “You get used to her.”

“Would you explain some of the things she said?  And why does she use the royal ‘We’?”

“She speaks that way because, in a way, she is a ‘we.’  She is everywhere and nowhere all at once.”

“Omnipresent,” Jack supplied faintly, still not quite recovered from his shock.

“Yes, that.  As for the rest,” Bunny replied, pausing for a moment.  “She is Pitch’s daughter.”

“…what?”

“You heard me.”

Jack’s right eye twitched.  “That’s got to suck.”

“She was the reason, indirectly, that he fell to the darkness.  The story goes that, before his fall, he was Kozmotis Pitchiner, the Golden General, Vanquisher of the Fearlings.  He volunteered to guard their prison.  After several years of loneliness, his daughter’s image his only solace, the Fearlings wormed into his mind and convinced him that she was trapped inside with them.  He rushed in to save her and, well….”

“That – that sucks.  Big time.  Almost makes me want to pity him.  Almost.”

“After Pitchiner became possessed by the Fearlings, he destroyed many planets, stars, and dreams before Nightlight, Manny’s childhood guardian, defeated him, the both of them trapped in a sort of stasis for millennia until a stray Moonbeam released them from confinement.  Pitch then caused the decline and fall of the Roman Empire and was responsible for all the misery and despair in the Dark Ages.

It took all four of us Guardians to subdue him again.  His return this past spring had been unexpected, but only in the timing.  We had expected him to return, since we can’t ever extinguish fear, but he caught us by surprise.  It was way too early.  Must’ve been the nightmare sand he created.”

“And the part about your…species?”

Bunnymund shifted uncomfortably, instinctively hugging the sprite closer to his body.  Jack didn’t complain, even though he was being squeezed a bit too tightly.

“One of the planets Pitch destroyed was my home world.  He then subsequently hunted down every last Pooka that had been off-world at the time.  Almost killed me too.  Manny saved my arse.  Boy, was I madder than an adder when he did that.  I was the last Pooka.  I could never save my people, so what was the point of living?  I hibernated for several millennia to distance myself from the pain.  When I woke up, the Roman Empire had already fallen and the Dark Ages were in full swing.

I beat the crap out of Pitch, sent him packing, then went back to sleep for several more centuries.  When I woke up again, Australia was just beginning to be explored by the Brits and Dutch.  Their developing culture was reminiscent of home and soothed the ache, so I built the Warren beneath the continent and started exploring the world.  The Easter Bunny stuff just sort of happened gradually over time.  Things are apples now, but –”

“You miss them, don’t you?” Jack whispered.

Bunny sniffed.  “Yeah.  I – I had a mate picked out and everything.  We – we were going to have so many kits….”

Jack hugged Bunny fiercely while the ancient warrior choked up and broke down as his old wounds reopened.  Jack took a turn at being the calming influence, comforting the hurt away with soothing nonsense and gentle back rubs.

Several minutes later, Bunny managed to pull himself together, whispering as he did so.

“Sorry ‘bout that.  I don’t like to think ‘bout it much, ‘cause this happens every time, no matter how long it’s been.”

“It’s alright, Aster.  I understand.  I really do.  After – after Pitch happened, I sat down with my teeth and Tooth and had a good long cry over my long lost family.  The hurt may not be as deep for me, but _I understand_.”

Bunny wiped his face clean with a paw and then graced Jack with a sad smile.  “I reckon you do, at that.  Maybe we’re not as different as I first thought.”

Jack flashed a grin.  “I’m still way more fun than you, Kangaroo.”

Bunnymund shook his head in fond exasperation.  “I suppose your right ‘bout that.  This old warrior could probably use some more fun now and then.”

“Old.  That’s right, she mentioned something about that.  How old exactly _are_ you?”

“At last count… ‘bout 16,000 years old.  Give or take a century.  It’s a bit fuzzy after all that hibernating; Sandy would know for sure.  He’s a fair bit older than me and keeps track of these things better.”

Jack blinked at the Pooka, before giving him a cheeky grin, “Robbing the cradle, much?”

“Rack off, you drongo,” Bunny replied, shoving a laughing winter sprite out of his embrace and standing up.  “Enough sappy stuff.  Let’s get back to work.  You’ve got some footwork lessons to learn.”

“You’re on.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The next several days passed by in a blur after that.  Bunnymund would spend the mornings training Jack in various additional martial art forms that were complimentary to his personal style and helped shore up weaknesses in it.  They would then have a late brunch, spend time tending Bunny’s gardens, and then spar some more.  Late afternoon they’d eat again and then settle in for some ‘couple time.’  Dinner, bed, and then repeat again the next day.

Jack had never had so much fun while ‘working’ before.  Neither had Bunny.

They pulled back on their interactions and stuck to kissing and cuddling, with the occasional bout of heavy petting, wanting to go slow for now as they took the time to get to know each other better.  Jack offered and then learned how to help Bunny groom himself, which was greatly appreciated, since his backside was very difficult to do solo.  Bunny showed Jack some of his artistic tricks, which Jack adapted to improve the intricacy of his frost designs.

It was almost December when everything went pear-shaped.

It was well past dinner time, nearly midnight, and they were preparing for bed when they heard a screech outside the burrow.  It sounded like an owl.

“Bunny, do you have any owls in the Warren?”

“…No.”

Immediately on the alert, they armed themselves and cautiously moved to the front door, scanning the moonlit field outside the burrow through every window.  Nothing.

Stealthily, they fanned out from the entryway, Bunny taking the lead.  Still nothing.

Long minutes of waiting.

Nothing.

Wait.

The air was getting mighty cold.

“Jack, stop trying to freeze my tail off.”

“I’m not lowering the temperature.”

Bunny stiffened at that, his ears flying erect and straining to hear the slightest sound.

Nothing.

A faint, chilly breeze ruffled his fur.

“Bunny!” Jack screamed from behind him.

Bunnymund spun around in time to see a huge dark, cloaked figure carrying a large, heavy staff, a snowy owl perched atop one shoulder, grabbing Jack by the waist and lifting the thin sprite like he weighed no more than a feather.  Before Bunny could so much as blink, the cloaked figure, the owl, and _Jack_ dispersed into a cloud of diamond dust, which twinkled menacingly in the pale moonlight.

“ _Jaaaaack!_ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter's a bit shorter than I'd like, but it was either this or a chapter that was much longer than I want. Thus, short chappy.
> 
> For those that don't know already: [Diamond Dust](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diamond_dust)
> 
> Also, cliffy hanger is a cliffhanger.


	8. Winter's Child

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long chapter is _long_. I'd apologize, but no one is going to complain, are they?
> 
> Enjoy!
> 
> Addendum: I reviewed this chapter about 12 hours after I posted it and corrected several errors (minor things, typos and the like); nothing major. I would also like to take a moment to acknowledge the assistance provided to me by [Nike](http://archiveofourown.org/users/Nike/pseuds/Nike), whom I had a discussion with in the comments on Chapter 7 regarding how best to write accents. I have since taken her advice and made some minor adjustments to how Bunnymund speaks throughout the fic and will carry those changes over into my future work.   
> Nike, thank you!

Jack was gone.

Jack was _gone_.

_Kidnapped_.

Bunnymund stood frozen in place for several long minutes, staring at the diamond dust that remained behind to mark where Jack had stood such a short time before, watching it slowly settle to the packed earth of the Warren.

Bunny mentally slapped himself.

_He’s not dead,_ he thought fervently. _If whoever-that-was wanted to kill ‘im, he’d have just done so right here.  He wanted my Jack alive._

With that sobering thought, Bunnymund knew what needed to be done and took off for his tunnels.  He had to get to the Workshop.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

North was roused from a sound sleep when Phil burst into his chambers, immediately moving to the fireplace to add more wood to the waning fire, Bunnymund right on his heels.  The Pooka began pacing a hole in the carpet while he waited for the old Cossack to get his fat arse out of bed.

“What is problem, old friend, that it cannot wait until morning?” he asked drowsily.

“Jack’s been kidnapped!” Bunnymund shouted, spinning to face North, before returning to his frantic pacing.

“What?!  Phil, forget fire!  Get my swords!  Быстро!  Быстро!” North ordered, hurriedly getting out of his bed and all but running into his closet to change.  “Bernard, get out of boot and go find Earl!  Tell him to activate Aurora!”

A small elf dashed out of the closet and ran out of the room, dodging between Bunnymund’s pacing feet.

“What happened, Bunny?”

“Someone broke into the Warren and grabbed Jack and then just…disappeared!”

North poked his head out of the closet as it popped through the neck of the red shirt he was pulling on.  “Describe ‘disappeared.’”

“One moment they were there and the next there was nothing but fine ice crystals in the air!”

North frowned as he hopped one-legged into a pair of trousers.  “Diamond dust, you mean?”

“Yes, diamond dust!  That bloody owl tricked us into going out into the open –”

“Wait!  Owl?  A snowy owl?”

“Yes, but why does that ruddy owl’s color matter?” Bunnymund replied, nonplussed.

North waved him off as he shoved his feet into his black leather boots.

“Snowy owl….diamond dust…teleportation!  Yes!  I know who took Jack!”

Bunnymund spun on the spot to stare at North and yelling, “Who!  Tell me _now_ , you bloody drongo, or so help me –”

“Old Man Winter,” North answered the distraught Pooka, a grim look passing over his face.

Bunnymund felt faint at the idea and stumbled backwards.  Phil caught him with one hand as he reentered the room, sword belt in his other hand.

“Спасибо, Phil.  Make sleigh ready, da?”

Phil grunted in response, making sure Bunnymund was steady on his feet before leaving the room.

“Sleigh?  Do you know where he would have taken my Jack?” Bunnymund asked, the hope evident in his voice.

“Da.  Winter lives in Antarctica.  Only place he finds cold enough,” North replied, before giving the Pooka a strange look.  “ _Your_ Jack?”

Bunny’s ears went flat against his head in embarrassment at his slip.  North could actually see a blush beneath the thinner fur of his short muzzle, it was so bright.

“Nevermind.  Is not important now.  We discuss later, this thing you say,” North replied with a hard smile, waving his hand in the air to dismiss the issue.

Bunnymund nodded hesitantly, before following North out of the bedroom and out into the Workshop proper.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Sandy was the first to arrive.  He flashed a detailed image of Saint Basil’s Cathedral to indicate where he had been when Bunnymund expressed surprise at his quick arrival.  Tooth usually arrived first, since her palace was just over in central Asia and a straight flight to the Workshop over the Pole was very quick.

“Собор Покрова пресвятой Богородицы, что на Рву?  Ah, Moscow.  Is good place,” North said in response to the image.

Tooth arrived several minutes later and, after a quick spin around the room, asked the obvious question.

“Where’s Jack?”

Bunnymund gave her a forlorn look, but North was the one to answer the fairy.

“Kidnapped,” the Cossack said succinctly.  “Old Man Winter.”

Tooth looked faint.  Sandy went wide-eyed, a huge exclamation point forming above his head.

Sandy then flashed several images at Bunnymund in quick succession, inquiring as to how Jack was taken since they were supposed to be safe in the Warren.

“I don’t know, Sandy!  He just appeared, grabbed Jack, and then poof!  There was nothing but bloody diamond dust left!  There was barely enough time for Jack to scream my name before it was all over!”

North laid a comforting hand on Bunny’s shoulder.

“We get him back for you, da?” North whispered gently, before turning and walking away, shouting over his shoulder, “Come!  Sleigh is ready!”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack was dumped unceremoniously into a snow bank in the middle of a blizzard.  He immediately jumped to his feet, staff at the ready, looking for his captor.  All he could see was the falling snow, blowing in the wind.

“Bunny?” he shouted.

“Your – _mate_ is not here,” a deep voice said over the howling winds.

“Who are you?  How do you know about that?” Jack shouted in reply.

He felt a sensation not unlike Bunny’s whiskers ghost across the back of his neck.  He spun in place and jumped away from the sensation’s supposed source, but no one was standing behind where he had been.

“I can smell him on you, youngling,” came the reply on the wind.

An owl screeched in the distance.

“Who are you?” Jack repeated into the growing gloom.

“You would know of me as Old Man Winter, youngling,” whispered a voice just over his shoulder, the sensation of a finger tapping him accompanying it.

Jack spun and jumped again, but still found no one behind him.

_Old Man Winter_.

_Shit shit shit._

_Why me?_ he thought plaintively, before shouting, “What do you want with me?”

“Now that is the question of the hour, is it not, youngling?”

“If you’re just going to kill me, can you please just get it over with?  You know I can’t defeat you,” Jack answered despondently.

He received a solid smack upside the back of his head from what felt like a heavy hand, but left snow falling out of his hair.

_Huh._

_A really heavy snowball._

_Ow._

“Tsk,” the voice said over his shoulder.  “Tsk tsk.  Why would I go to all the trouble of kidnapping you if all I wanted to do was to kill you?”

Apparently to prove his point, the temperature in the immediately vicinity of Jack dropped sharply.

_Very_ sharply.

The motion of the whirling snow slowed to a crawl, the screaming of the wind dying just as fast, before all movement simply _stopped_ for one brief moment.  The snow hung suspended in the air, the flakes twinkling faintly in the unearthly gloom.

Jack _shivered,_ but even that movement was as if in slow motion.

For the first time since his death, Jack _felt cold_.

As quickly as the temperature had dropped, it returned to what would be deemed ‘normal,’ given the blizzard, and Jack stopped shivering.  The snow began flying normally once again and the wind picked back up.

Emboldened by the fact that his death was apparently not imminent – even if the crazy fuck had dropped the ambient temperature to _absolute zero_ just to prove he _could_ – Jack shouted in the wind, “Show yourself!”

“As you wish,” the deep voice whispered in his ear.

The howling winds died down to a moderate gale and the blizzard lessened in its intensity, although it continued to snow heavily.  A shadow appeared out of the darkness in front of Jack and slowly gained definition over several seconds, until the ancient spirit had fully formed before him.

Old Man Winter _loomed_ over him.

Jack’s immediate impression was that the spirit was _tall_.  Taller than Bunny even, probably topping out at over nine feet.

Then the Old Man straighten his stooped posture as he brandished his giant, aged oaken stave in a tight arc, before sticking the pointed steel tip into the snow at his feet, head now held high.  The main body of the staff was wrapped tightly with a tattered white cloth where the spirit held it in his equally giant fist, a few ragged strands flapping like loose bandages in the wind.

_Okay…._

_Ten feet tall._

_Fuck.  He’s_ twice _my height._

Jack had to suppress an undignified squeak at the thought.

Old Man Winter wore a huge great cloak that appeared to have been woven from a single, enormous piece of bluish-white cloth.

Perhaps it was made of wool.

_Or maybe the flesh of his enemies._

Jack wasn’t sure; he was far from being an expert on textiles and _– why was he worrying about that now?_

The ancient spirit had a snow-white, extremely long beard that fluttered to the side of his face in the gale-force winds.  Even his eyebrow hair was long and joined with the rest of the hair on his face to flap in the wind.  His deeply set, dark eyes bore into Jack, making him want to squirm as if he were a recalcitrant child.

Of course, maybe that’s because he basically _was_ a recalcitrant child, compared to the ancient winter spirit towering over him.

A large – much larger than nature could have ever intended – snowy owl swooped out of the gloom surrounding them on silent wings, landing on Winter’s shoulder and glaring with its beady little yellow eyes at Jack.

_Yup._

_Recalcitrant child._

_Sooo fucked._

“Youngling –”

“My _name_ is Jack Fr—”

A heavy snowball smacked him upside the back of his head.

_Ow ow._

“I will call you what I want, you intractable whippersnapper!” the spirit boomed as he slammed his staff once on the ground for emphasis.

It caused a brief earth tremor.  Jack could faintly make out the sound of cracking ice in the distance.

Jack replied, chastened, “Yes sir.”

_It couldn’t hurt to be a little more respectful_ , Jack thought, half-hysterically.

Winter nodded firmly.

“ _Youngling_ ,” he began again, emphasizing the word sharply, “I have brought you here for a test.  A trial by storm, if you will.”

Jack immediately forgot his intentions to be respectful, asking harshly, with an almost-growl, “What does that even _mean_?”

Heavy snowball.  Back of head.

_Ow…._

“Stop with the Gibbs-smacks already!” Jack shouted, losing his temper.

Heavy snowball.

_In the face_.

Jack spluttered, spitting snow and ice out of his mouth, before he dared glare up at the Old Man, crazy powerful spirit or no.

Jack swore he saw the faintest of smiles grace the weathered face above him before it was gone, like a snowflake on the wind.

Okay.  So maybe the Old Man knew something about having fun, but _still_ –

“You have spirit, youngling.  That is good.  It will be needed when you face the General.  _If_ you survive my trial.”

Jack swallowed loudly and took an involuntary step back.

“What would you have me do?”

A faint smirk graced the ancient spirits features as he opened his arms wide in an all-encompassing gesture.

“This storm?  _Take it_.  If you can.”

The giant of a man, and the owl, then promptly disintegrated into diamond dust on the wind as it picked back up to near-hurricane force, the severe blizzard renewing its intensity as the faintest of twilights began to lighten the bleak clouds above.

Sunrise in the middle of the night?

I’m in _Antarctica_.

_Lovely_.

Jack could sense the temperature beginning a slow, creeping slide towards that absolute freeze that even he could feel.

“Oh, is _that_ all?” Jack shouted sarcastically into the night.

He swore he heard an answering dark chuckle on the wind.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The four Guardians flew into the night sky aboard North’s sleigh as it launched from the Workshop ramp.

Bunnymund was just happy he had avoided vomiting carrots over the side this time.

After flying a sufficient distance from the Workshop, North pulled out a snow globe and chucked it out in front of the sleigh, with the intended destination of Antarctica.  The portal began to form and then –

Fizzled.

“What the bloody hell was that?” Bunnymund shouted as he hung onto the side of the sleigh with a death grip.

North grunted as he pulled out another globe.

“Winter blocking my globes.  Will travel elsewhere.  Then ride sleigh to Antarctica.”

North then threw the second globe out before them and a portal formed fully, displaying a familiar landscape to Bunnymund.

“Oh Crikey!” Bunny hollered as they plunged through the portal, appearing over the Australian Outback and turning to fly southward.  “I hate flying!”

Sandy had his hands in the air, as if he were riding a rollercoaster, and was clearly enjoying the ride.  Bunny glared at him for a moment before his distraction caused him to wobble in place.  He promptly returned his attention to maintaining a death grip on his side of the sleigh.

North banked into a hard turn, dodging a thunderstorm as they shot out over the ocean, leaving the Australian coast behind.

Bunny’s dinner ended up in the sea.

North handed Tooth a bottle of water, which she in turn handed to Bunnymund in an obviously well practiced maneuver.

“I hate flying,” he murmured morosely.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack stood stock still, feet braced to keep himself steady in the wailing gale, his staff held before him in a fighting stance, the crook held forward of and above his head, pointing outward, as if ready to strike.  He was straining to focus on the feel of the storm around him, trying to sense its core, its source, metaphysically speaking.  Only then could he try to grasp ahold of its proverbial reigns and bring the storm to a stop.

He suddenly felt the core and made a grab for the reigns.  He missed.  Again.

_The damn reigns keep slipping out of my fingers,_ he thought.  _What am I doing wrong?_

Snow was beginning to build up around his ankles and was building a thin layer atop his shoulders and head when he managed to sense the storm’s core again.

This time he managed to grab the reigns, but he yanked too hard and lost them again.  The storm bucked under his sharp tug, however, and did lessen its intensity for a moment.

_Almost got it that time_.

He continued struggling with the storm, finding, grasping, and losing control in ever increasingly quick succession.  If nothing else, he was getting much better at identifying the core of the storm.

_That knowledge could be useful later,_ he mused.  _If I ever get out of this mess_.

Jack mentally froze once that thought fully processed.

_Oh._

_The fucking cranky old bastard._

_He’s trying to_ train _me how to better use my powers!_

“You crazy bastard!” Jack shouted into the storm.

A deep, dark chuckle floated past his left ear.

“Figured it out, have you, youngling?”

“You didn’t have to kidnap me to train me!” Jack shouted again as he tried and failed once more to gain control of the storm.

“Oh, but I did.  After all, you would not have the necessary motivation to complete your task unless…”

Jack tried again and failed.

“Unless…?”

A dark, foreboding chuckle answered his query.

“Your mate comes.  He does not know of the storm, nor do the others.  They will be within its boundaries about—now.”

Try.  Fail.

_Damn it._

“You bastard!” Jack screamed in answer as he began to panic.

His panic spiked sharply when the storm parted slightly above and to his right enough for him to see the sleigh in the distance.

Bunny’s shout of “Jack!” was helpfully carried to him on the wind.

The temperature started plummeting faster.

_The fucking bastard!_

Jack tried again to grasp control of the storm.  Failure.

_Damn it!_

Jack glanced over at the sleigh again and his heart just about stopped.

Bunny had been thrown from the sleigh and was flying towards the looming shadow of a nearby ice cliff at hurricane-force speed.

“No!”

With that shout Jack instinctively swung his staff through the air and the crook _caught_ on the metaphysical core of the storm.

Jack pulled on it with all his might.

_And the storm was his._

Jack rose into the air in a tight spiral, his eyes aglow with the sheer power of the storm he was now riding, swinging his staff in an arc towards Bunnymund.  The snow parted and the winds calmed, the Wind returned to his control once more, before a strong gust tossed Bunny into a large snow bank that rose up at Jack’s command to provide a soft landing.

With an unearthly scream, Jack threw his hands wide and the sky parted.  The storm dissipated rapidly after that.

The Moon shown proudly down from above as stars twinkled faintly in the clear, crisp air of the false dawn that outlined the horizon.

North landed the sleigh next to the snow drift that Bunny had fallen into and the other Guardians jumped out and rushed to dig the Pooka out of the snow.  Jack flew through the air towards them and landed just as they pulled Bunnymund out.  He was shivering madly.

Jack’s eyes were still glowing icily with the not-quite-yet-dissipated energy of the storm.  He cocked his head to the side as he looked at his newfound lover and he realized he could _see_ how Bunny was cold and realized _he could fix it_.

He reached out and touched Bunny’s paw.

The Pooka stopped shivering.

Jack removed his hand and the shivering started up again.

Touch.

The shivering stopped.

_Awesome._

Bunnymund blinked at Jack, eyes going wide at the sight of the sprite’s glowing eyes.

“Frostbite…?”

Jack smiled beatifically.  “Yes?”

“How am I not freezing to death?”

“I am – absorbing – the cold you’re feeling,” Jack replied slowly as his quick mind puzzled out the specifics of what he was doing.  “Taking it into myself to prevent it from harming you.”

The glow in Jack’s eyes finally receded as he spoke, but his eyes remained brighter than before.  Jack noticed then that Tooth’s teeth were chattering.

“Tooth.  Touch Bunny,” he instructed.

Giving Jack a funny look, she complied and instantly stopped feeling the cold as well.

“Jack!  That’s amazing!” she exclaimed.

North and Sandy didn’t notice the cold at all, or were choosing to ignore it, as they warily watched the surrounding area for signs of imminent attack.

 “Jack.  Are you well?” North inquired as he scanned the landscape.

Jack considered his reply for a moment, before answering, “Surprisingly, yes.”

“I would not have allowed him to strike the cliff, frostling,” came Winter’s deep voice, floating through the air on a light, chilly breeze.

Jack growled into the night air, “Why should I believe you?”

“He is too important, little one.  ‘The last of his kind,’ he says.  And he is – _special_ , to you.  I would not anger you too greatly so soon after our first meeting, my young frostling.”

Jack spluttered, “What do you mean, _yours_?”

“Do you not yet know?  Tsk tsk.  I expected my – child to have told you of this long ago.  I find that ignorance – unacceptable.”

It was then that Old Man Winter chose to manifest himself once more, as diamond dust formed in the air and rushed to a single point.  The mass in that single point rapidly expanded into the towering form of Winter.  His owl appeared out of the night, as silent as before, and landed on the ancient spirit’s shoulder.

North and Sandy took up positions in front of Jack and the other two that he was keeping – well, _warm_ wasn’t the right word; it was more like _from freezing to death_ – North with his weapons drawn menacingly and Sandy with his whips cracking sharply in the still air.

Old Man Winter chuckled darkly, but made no moves towards the assembled Guardians.  Jack looked up at the spirit’s weathered face from where he was crouched holding Bunny’s paw.

“For the record, you’re a bastard.”

Winter simply shrugged, neither confirming nor denying the accusation.

“…thank you.”

The other Guardians all turned as one to look at Jack in shock.

“Frostbite, you manic gumby!  Have you bloody well lost your mind?” Bunnymund exclaimed.  “He _kidnapped_ you!”

The others nodded their agreement.

Jack glanced around the group before returning his eyes to meet the ancient spirit’s hardened gaze.  Jack considered him contemplatively for several moments before responding.

“Yes, he kidnapped me,” Jack said slowly.  “Apparently, to _train_ me.”

Winter nodded.

Bunnymund spluttered, “ _Train_ you?”

“Yes.  Even the kidnapping was training, if my guess is correct, since I got to experience his form of travel.”

Winter shrugged noncommittally.

“Then why kidnap you?” Bunny asked, clearly bewildered.

“Everyone has to have their fun somehow.  Most winter spirits are just a bit more – sadistic about it.”

The large spirit smirked faintly.

“Here, Bunny, hold this,” Jack said, presenting his staff to the Pooka.  “I think I can keep you two from feeling the cold if you hold it.”

Bunny complied and Jack let go of his hand.  Bunny nodded after a moment, confirming Jack’s hypothesis.  Jack marched over to stand in front of North and Sandy, motioning for them to stand down.  He came to a stop a few feet in front of Winter, leaning back on his heels to gaze up at his erstwhile captor as he crossed his arms across his chest and cocked one hip to the side slightly.

“So, Old Man –”

Winter grunted, interrupting Jack.

“I’d prefer you call me ‘grandfather,’ frostling.  It is quite a bit more accurate in describing the nature of our relationship and your display of prowess has earned you the right.”

Jack blinked.  And gaped, his hands falling to his sides momentarily in his disbelief.

“Wait, what?”

“Did you think that Lunanoff was the only one involved in your – reanimation?  Foolish child.  Mother Nature and the Snow Queen both had to grant permission for you to take up the role of a seasonal spirit.  The Queen had to grant the seasonal powers directly, herself, or you would have only been reborn powerless.  In essence, she is the metaphysical equivalent of your spirit ‘mother.’  Lunanoff would be your metaphysical ‘father.’  I suppose you would then consider Seraphina an – ‘aunt.’”

Jack blinked for a moment as he processed that.

“Okay.  I see where you’re going with that.  It makes a twisted sort of sense.  But where do you fit in?”

“I empowered the Snow Queen in a similar manner when she took up the mantle ages ago.”

Tooth gasped.

“Shut up Bunny,” Jack said without turning around.

He heard Bunny’s teeth clack as he snapped his jaw shut with an offended grunt.

“Deal with it,” Jack replied.  “Okay.  I must admit I am – surprised.  But – I can accept that, _gramps_.”

A snowball leapt off the ground and smacked Jack upside the back of the head.

“Ow!  Fine, fine, _grandfather_.  Have it your way.  What’s with this ‘frostling’ business, anyway?  You and Mother Nature have both called me that.”

“Go ask your mother,” Winter replied with a faint smirk.

“Oh, sure, because I should _totally_ do that when the General could catch me at her Court at any time.  _Excellent_ idea,” Jack exclaimed acerbically.

Old Man Winter chuckled darkly, before glancing sideways at his owl.

“Ugla,” he said, addressing it by what Jack could only assume was its name.

_Weird name._

Winter then spoke to the giant avian in a rumbling baritone, his words carrying a slight lilt, especially when he rolled his r’s.  Jack didn’t recognize the language.

Bunny snorted behind him when Winter finished speaking.

_Oh good, he understands. I can ask him later_.

Winter turned his gaze back to Jack and announced, “You are done here.  Go now, with my blessing, frostling.  Ugla will take you from this place.”

Jack bowed his head lightly, in the Japanese fashion as done between equals.  Winter snorted his amusement at Jack’s rebellious presumption.  Jack grinned unabashedly up at him.  Old Man Winter then disintegrated into diamond dust once more, although his owl stayed behind, taking wing and circling the closely grouped Guardians.

“So, what now?” Jack asked.

“You might want to hold onto something, Frostbite.  It’s going to get a might bumpy about _nooooow!_ ”

The four Guardians, the sleigh, the reindeer, and Ugla disappeared from the Antarctic ice plain, leaving nary a trace, save for a fine mist of diamond dust.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The four Guardians and company appeared, sans Ugla, on an open field somewhere there was no snow, with the notable exception of the light fog of swiftly dissipating diamond dust.  It was still quite dark out.  Jack glanced around and noticed a large, humorously-wide sign.  An extremely long word was written on it.

_Oh, so_ that’s _where we are.  Awesome._

“Where the bloody hell are we?” Bunny complained, standing as he handed Jack his staff.  The Pooka then glanced at the sign.  “What the hell is that rubbish?”

“Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu,” Jack replied without missing a beat.

“Gesundheit?” Bunny replied in turn, nonplussed.

“It’s Maori.  Roughly translated, it means ‘The summit where Tamatea, the man with the big knees, the climber of mountains, the land-swallower who travelled about, played his nose flute to his loved one.’  It’s the name of that hill over there.  You don’t know that language?  I’m shocked I tell you.  Shocked.”

“I never got around to a number of the Polynesian languages.  I know Rapanui though.  Why give a place such a bloody long name?”

“Easter Islander?  _Of course_ you do.  And that’s the short version.”

“What?  You’re taking the piss out on me, aren’t you?”

Jack blinked at Bunnymund for a moment.  “You have such colorful turns of phrase.  No, I’m serious.  The long version mentions something about the guy’s penis.  What was it –”

“Stop!  I don’t want to know, mate!” Bunny exclaimed, covering his ears with his large paws.

Jack grinned at him.  Sandy was laughing silently over where he’d been deposited, rolling around on the ground.  North was helping Toothiana to stand up.

“You still haven’t told me where we are, Frostbite.”

“I told you, Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu,” Jack replied cheekily.

Bunny let out a long suffering sigh, patiently inquiring, “And where is that, you bloody larrikin?”

“New Zealand.”

Bunny rolled his eyes in exasperation.  “There.  Was that so hard?”

“Yes,” Jack answered sarcastically, deftly dodging the paw that Bunny swiped at his head.

He’d been smacked upside the head quite enough for one night, thank you very much.

Jack turned his dodge into a spin that landed him smack against Bunny’s side.  Bunny grunted at the impact.  Jack tugged one of his tall ears down so he could whisper into it.

“I’m quite flattered that you rallied everyone to come save me.  Very – _appreciative_ ,” he breathed against Bunny’s sensitive ear, running a hand lightly down the Pooka’s arm out of sight of the rest of the group, who were preoccupied with getting the sleigh righted and the reindeer in order.

Bunny swallowed heavily and shuddered faintly.

“Shall we retire to _our_ nest,” Jack continued, emphasizing the word ‘our’ because he knew the fact that they shared a bed aroused the Pooka.  “I would like to demonstrate my – _appreciation_.”

Jack then licked the inside of Bunny’s ear.

Bunny hopped away from Jack and loudly and quickly announced, “Whelp.  I’m for bed.  Been a long night.  I’m sure you lot can handle yourselves.  Thanks for the assist.  We can talk about it tomorrow.  Night all.  Let’s go Jack!”

The Pooka then grabbed Jack’s arm and opened a rabbit hole, the two of them disappearing before the others could do no more than gape at Bunnymund’s behavior.  Jack’s laughter was the last thing they heard before the hole closed.

North chuckled knowingly.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Russian:  
> Быстро! Быстро!  
> Quickly! Quickly!
> 
> Спасибо, Phil.  
> Thank you, Phil.
> 
> Собор Покрова пресвятой Богородицы, что на Рву  
> Cathedral of the Protection of Most Holy Theotokos on the Moat (long version of the nameof Saint Basil's Cathedral)
> 
> If you don't know 'gesundheit,' then you've never sneezed in your _life_.
> 
> [Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taumatawhakatangihangakoauauotamateapokaiwhenuakitanatahu) on Wikipedia, for those that are curious.


	9. Jack's a Naughty Boy and Aster Reminiscences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smutty smut ahead!
> 
> Oh, and a cute story because Jack was curious. Enjoy the fluff!

Jack made a race out of getting to the burrow from the tunnel to New Zealand, flying fast and low, weaving through the terrain and laughing delightedly.  Aster bounced, hopped, and ran all over the place.  Jack lost sight of him as he rounded the second-to-last bend in the route to the burrow.

“I win!  I w–” Jack started shouting, only to cut off in surprise when he rounded the last corner and caught sight of the burrow.

Bunnymund was leaning casually against the wall next the front door, smirk firmly in place.

Jack flew over to stop right in front of the Pooka, hovering such that he was eye to eye with him.

“How – how did you _do_ that?” Jack spluttered.

“Never race a bunny, mate,” Aster replied cockily.

Sighing in defeat, Jack drifted down to open the door.  Wandering inside, he set his staff in the umbrella stand and then spun to stare back out the door, which Bunnymund was casually leaning into, watching him.  Jack flashed him a come-hither grin and then dashed for the bedroom, laughing.  Bunny caught him in the bedroom doorway and spun him around, backing him up against the wall, his eyes alight.

“I believe there was mention of _appreciation_ , mate,” he purred hungrily.

Jack squeaked at the tone of Aster’s voice, before replying coyly, “Did I?  Oh, well, I _suppose_ I should reward you then.”

The sprite then closed the distance between them and kissed Bunny.  Hard.  Jack’s hands began carding through Bunny’s chest fur in such a manner that it caused warmth to begin pooling in the Pooka’s stomach.  They were pressed so close together that Jack immediately noticed when Bunny’s penis peeked out of his sheath and poked him in the stomach.

Jack pulled out of the heated kiss with a gasp, saying, “You.  Nest.  _Now_.”

Bunny pulled away from Jack and hastily complied, flopping down amongst the pillows and blankets and staring expectantly over at Jack.  The Pooka felt the need to drool at the expanse of pale, smooth skin Jack exposed to his darkening eyes when the sprite tossed his hoodie to the side.  Still wearing his tight, arse-hugging leather pants, Jack sauntered over to Bunny, poking the larger male in the chest with one finger and applying gentle pressure.  Getting the hint, Aster allowed Jack to knock him back into a reclined position, his legs sagging out in front of him, fully exposing his half-hard erection.

Jack glanced down at Bunny’s member and said playfully, his voice dropping an octave in his desire, “Well, lookie here.  It’s the little wabbit, come out to play!  Y’know, Bunny, I’ve yet to see you at full mast.  I think I’d like to find out what that looks like…”

The sprite trailed off as he kneeled before the sprawled Pooka and gently grasped the base of the shaft, tugging lightly on the sheath.  His other hand moved to fondle Bunny’s furry balls, a couple fingers sneaking just behind them to tease the Pooka’s perineum.

“Ah, mate, just like that,” Aster sighed quietly.

Jack pumped lightly at the shaft several times, coaxing a bit more of the thickening erection out of its home.  A bead of precum oozed out of the tip.  He glanced up and locked his ice blue eyes with Aster’s green, before he slowly leaned forward and lapped lightly at the tip, tasting Bunny for the first time.

Jack discovered that Bunnymund tasted slightly salty, yet sweet, although not overwhelming so.  He liked it.

Bunnymund discovered that Jack’s slightly chilled tongue on his penis was _amazing_.  He _loved_ it.

“Aaaah, Jack!” Bunny yelped, his head flipping backwards into the pillows and his hips thrusting reflexively at Jack’s teasing.  He quickly returned his gaze to the sprite between his legs, intending to not miss a moment.

Jack teased and tormented the helpless Pooka, licking up and down his rapidly growing length while continuing to fondle his balls and tease his perineum, until Bunny was fully erect.  Jack leaned back for a moment to have a proper look, his right hand continuing to fondle Bunny’s balls idly, and found himself gaping.

Bunny was _big_.

His shaft was almost too thick for Jack to touch his index finger and thumb together around its circumference at the base, but it tapered to a much slimmer thickness as it approached the tip, which poked out of the sheath a good eight inches.  Like an actual rabbit’s cock, it lacked the head found on a human penis.  I was simply one long, tapered shaft.

 _Probably eight and a half,_ Jack mused, correcting his assessment as he lazily gave the shaft a couple more pumps with his left hand.

“Tsk tsk tsk, Aster.  You’ve been holding out on me,” Jack all-but-purred as he met Bunny’s heated gaze with his own icy hot stare.

Bunnymund groaned at the look in Jack’s eyes, but still possessed the wherewithal to reply cockily, if somewhat breathlessly, “Whatcha going to do about it, Frostbite?”

Instead of answer, Jack opened his mouth wide and took the first couple inches into his mouth, pushing his tongue flat against the underside as he slide down and back up experimentally several times, going a little deeper each time, until he was bobbing lightly up and down on over four deliciously salty-sweet inches of Bunny’s warm cock.

Aster moaned loudly as Jack took him in his mouth, the unexpected mix of cool tongue yet slightly warm mouth sending chills up his spine, causing him to shiver delightedly at the sensation.  He let out an undignified whine when Jack pulled back, taking a moment to breath.  The sprite’s left hand returned to pumping Bunny’s shaft lazily as Jack gazed up at him with eyes darkened to a deep navy blue.  Jack smirked at Bunny as their eyes met.

“I know something you don’t know,” he sing-songed cockily.

“Wh – what’s that, mate?” Bunny gasped out distractedly.

“I have no gag reflex.”

Before Aster could properly process what that meant, Jack dove back down on his cock, the first half sliding in until it hit the back of Jack’s throat – and then Jack titled his head slightly and suddenly Jack’s nose bumped up against Aster’s groin, his full length sliding down the sprite’s sinfully tight and cool, yet warm, throat.

Bunny groaned at the tight confines.  He instinctively tried to buck his hips but discovered that Jack had moved his hands to press down on the Pooka’s hips, effectively preventing any involuntary movement.  He let out a deep, bone-meltingly sinful moan as Jack began bobbing up and down the entire length of his shaft, pulling almost all the way off before plunging all the way back down again.

After a couple minutes of this treatment, Bunny groaned, “I – I – s’close, mate.”

Jack pulled back to bob lightly on just the first couple inches in response, eliciting another whine, as he took a deep breath through his nose, before plunging all the way back down, his nose bumping against Bunny’s groin once more.  Jack glanced up through his lashes at Bunny’s nearly black eyes.

And _hummed_.

Bunnymund came with a shout as he threw his head back into the pillows helplessly.  Jack managed to swallow most of Aster’s seed, but a small amount trickled out of his mouth and pooled on Bunny’s stomach.  Jack slowly pulled off and gave the tip one final lick, causing it to twitch and pulse, spurting a little more cum onto Aster’s stomach, adding to the growing mess.

Jack then abruptly stood, threw off his pants, and slid up Bunnymund’s body, bringing his rock hard penis into contact with Aster’s still almost completely hard one and thrust several times against it, eliciting another groan from the Pooka, before coming himself with a deep, satisfied moan and collapsing forward onto Bunny’s chest, his head coming to rest in the crook of the Pooka’s neck.

“Jack – mate – how – where – you,” Bunny panted incoherently, trying to form a sentence and failing, before giving up and saying simply, “’mazing.”

Jack grinned as he too panted, nuzzling Bunny’s neck and nipping lightly at the Pooka’s collarbone.  After a minute, Jack managed to catch his breath.

“I take it you liked that?” he asked cheekily, his voice roughened from their recent activity, lifting himself up with one hand to grin at Aster.

Bunny shook his head a few times to clear it and managed to reply, still panting lightly, “Jack, you beauty.  I’m gobsmacked.  Bloody oath.”

Jack favored Bunny with a bright smile.

“Where did you learn to do that?” Bunny asked as his breathing returned to normal.

Jack blushed lightly, averted his eyes, and started to fiddle with Bunny’s chest fur.

“One of my memories.  From my teeth.  I, um, you see, there was this cute boy in the village, the tanner’s son, just a little older than me.  We couldn’t have been more than fifteen.  We fooled around a bit, nothing too serious.  He was a bit on the large size, which is how I discovered that I had no gag reflex.  The rest is just…practice.”

Bunny grinned at Jack.  “Not one for the sheilas then, mate?”

Jack shook his head as he said, “Actually, there was a girl, um, later.  She was the daughter of a traveling peddler.  We, ah, had a bit of fun the summer before I died.”

“Weren’t you just a right little slag,” Bunny teased.

“Hey!  It was only the two of them!” Jack replied heatedly, glancing up to meet Bunny’s eye.

Aster quirked an eyebrow at him.

Jack sighed gustily and dropped his gaze back to where his fingers were still playing with the Pooka’s chest fur.

“ _Fine_.  I may or may not have spent some – _quality time_ – with the blacksmith’s twins.”

“Blokes or sheilas?”

“Yes.”

Aster blinked, smirked, and then said, “You randy little devil.”

“I’ll have you know I had a very healthy sex drive when I was a teenager,” Jack retorted haughtily.

Bunny snorted.  “And now?”

“I’m _three hundred_ and eighteen years old, Aster,” Jack replied, before flashing a cocky grin.  “But _mostly_ eighteen.”

Bunnymund laughed as he pulled Jack’s head under his chin, hugging the sprite tightly and chinning the top of his head several times.

“…what are you doing?” Jack asked as Bunny rubbed his head.

“It’s called chinning, mate.”

“Oh.  You’re marking me.  I was wondering if Pooka did that.”

Bunny paused and looked Jack in the eye.  “You don’t mind, do you?”

In answer, Jack climbed up so that he could rest his chin against the top of Bunny’s head and chinned him back.

Bunny laughed.  “You know that won’t leave any scent, right?”

“It’s the thought that counts,” Jack reasoned.

“Yes.  Yes it is.  Now let’s get cleaned up and go to bed.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

They woke late that morning and immediately prepared brunch, reasoning they could skip their morning sparring in light of the previous evening’s events.  Aster prepared himself a light fruit salad; Jack demonstrated his cooking skills by crafting a strawberry and cream crepe.

As they sat down to eat, Bunny noted, “Tooth would kill you if she caught you eating that, mate.”

Jack took a bite and hummed happily in response.  Bunny chuckled.  They ate in silence after that.

As Jack dropped his dishes in the sink to soak, he asked, “Hey, Bunny, I’ve got a question.”

“Yes?”

Jack turned around and leaned against the counter, crossing his arms loosely across his chest.

“How did you become the Easter Bunny?  I remember, when I was little, that it was a fairly new tradition.  The Lutherans started it, if I remember correctly.  Right?”

Bunnymund nodded.

“Yeah.  The Lutherans of Alsace came up with the idea sometime around 1682 actually.  I had been out of my second hibernation for several decades by then.  Manny pointed it out to me in 1696.  He’d been helping it catch on, it seems, planning for me to use it to spread hope.  I was a little annoyed at first – mostly because he didn’t _ask_ me before he made plans – but I quickly came to like the idea.  I spent time observing what the parents were doing that Easter and the next, and I came up with my googie plants in the meantime.

Way back when I was a youngling, I studied many of the arts, martial and otherwise, as was the custom amongst the Pooka.  Painting had always been my favorite, so the holiday seemed a natural fit.  I’ve always suspected Manny had something to do with the start of the tradition – I mean, what are the odds of painted googies and a bunny being associated with _Easter_ otherwise?”

“Yeah.  I can see your point.  It is rather an oddly-specific combination that seems tailor-made for you.”

Bunny nodded and then smiled as he recalled the next part of the story.

“Anyway, it was the next year that I was ready; Easter 1698.  I carefully prepped my googies, although not nearly as many as I do now, got them all painted up in my then brand new Coloring River, and set about hiding them around the regions in the Holy Roman Empire, France, and the Dutch Republic that had adopted the tradition, as well as over in America, where it had been imported along with several townships’ worth of Dutch and German Lutheran immigrants.  It was that very Easter that I got my first believer too.”

“Really?  How’d that happened?” Jack asked, perking up in obvious interest.

Bunny grinned at Jack’s enthusiasm, but it was to be expected, after all.  Jack had only recently acquired his own first believers and they were very special to him.

“It was an accident, really.  I was on the outskirts of Philadelphia, hiding eggs in the woods near the town where I’d learned the year before the ankle-biters would be herded to after church, when I heard the sound of a child crying.  I told myself no child would cry on _my_ holiday, not if I could help it, and crept over to the source of the sound.

It turned out to be a little bloke, probably no more than four or five.  I can still remember it so clearly – his fussy little Colonial clothes were muddied as he sat next to a small stream, his brown-haired head hanging limply as he cried.  I must have stepped on a twig – or maybe it was a dry leaf – but he suddenly started and looked around, before his eyes landed on me.  He sniffled and wiped his huge brown eyes and asked me, ‘Are you the Easter Bunny?’”

“Heh.  Guess Manny’s work paid off.”

“Strewth.  I was so surprised that he could see me I about fell over in shock.  I barely managed to not honk as it was.”

“I know the feeling,” Jack stated matter-of-factly, grinning broadly.  “Huh.  So Pooka’s honk too.”

Bunny grinned back, nodding in affirmation at Jack’s observation.  “That you do, mate.  Well, I couldn’t just leave the ankle-biter alone, so I crept forward slowly and told him that I was, in fact, the Easter Bunny; then I asked if he was lost.  He nodded.  I pulled a googie from my basket – one of my best that year – and offered it to him and told him to come with me and I would take him home.

By the time I got to the edge of the forest, I heard people calling for him.  I identified his pregnant mother easily enough – same hair and eyes; ‘sides, she was the most frantic, weeping openly as she was – so I set him down and shooed him forward, telling him to say hello to his mother for me.  He dashed straight to her and – well, it was a very sweet reunion.  I was just turning to go when he started gesturing towards the forest, apparently telling her about me; I froze in place when her eyes met mine.”

“Wait, she could _see_ you?” Jack exclaimed.  “But she was an adult!”

“You’re telling me.  Thinking back on it, though, she couldn’t have been more than twenty, so I guess it wasn’t totally unexpected.  Anyway, she was looking at me with wide eyes.  Trying to avoid a scene, I smiled and bowed politely.  That seemed to do the trick, though, because she smiled at me after that and nodded at me, before taking the little ankle-biter home.  That turned out to be a great Easter,” Bunny finished, smiling fondly at the memory.

Jack walked to Bunny’s side and leaned over to kiss his forehead, before saying, “That’s a great story Aster.”

Bunnymund gave Jack a one-armed hug in response, which the sprite returned wholeheartedly.

“Bloody oath it is, mate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And a stealth history lesson to boot!
> 
> [Easter Bunny](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_Bunny) on Wikipedia, for the curious.
> 
> Also: No cliffhanger this time, because I felt like being nice.


	10. A Visit to the Tooth Fairy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I noticed a small discrepancy with Jack's timeline as posted previously and what my notes detailed, so I am making a couple minor adjustments so everything fits correctly, as my notes have Jack born in 1694, not 1698. A few other dates will be adjusted as well, given that all of the events around 1700 were based on that. I had accidentally slid my timeline up 4 years. Oh well.

November ended where December started with little fanfare.  Baby Tooth brought word from Toothiana that she had found one of Jack’s misplaced teeth and politely inquired if he would like to come to the Tooth Palace and have a look.

“I thought she had all your teeth already, Frostbite.”

Jack turned from his playful interactions with Baby Tooth and replied with a shrug, “When Pitch stole everything, he wasn’t overly cautious about keeping all the storage containers sealed.  Several million teeth got misplaced or resorted incorrectly during the move back to the palace, including several of mine.  She’s been sending Baby Tooth to let me know when she’s found another one as the mini-Fairies perform a complete inventory.  It’s been going on all year and she expects she won’t be done until sometime next summer.”

“Ouch, mate.  That’s got to be bloody boring work.”

“This _is_ Tooth we’re talking about.  I think it’s taking so long because she spends so much time cooing over all the ‘pretty little teeth.’”

Bunnymund laughed.

“Do you feel up to going then, mate?  Last I heard, Boreas and Vetr were still looking for you,” Bunny asked when Baby Tooth left to get back to her duties.

Jack gazed at Bunny contemplatively for several moments, before he opened his mouth, only to be interrupted by Zygmunt, the Easter Elf, popping into existence over his head and landing on it.

“Hey!” Jack exclaimed.

The elf giggled as it flopped off of Jack’s head and onto a nearby table.  It turned and presented a small scroll to Jack.  The sprite took the missive and untied the red and green bow holding it together.  Unrolling it, he quickly scanned it and then barked a laugh.

“What does the chubby old goat have to say, mate?”

Jack turned a bright grin on Aster, which momentarily took the Pooka’s breath away.

“He sent the Snow Queen a letter while we’ve been down here, inquiring about how my being a Guardian might affect the rules of the open season on me.  She replied that it does, in fact, change things and that the General seems to have forgotten that.”

“How so?”

“The members of the Court: herself, gramps –”

A heavy snowball flew out of nowhere and smacked Jack upside the back of the head.

“Ow!  What the – how did he _do_ that!” Jack groused.

Aster laughed as a dark chuckle floated through the window on a chilly breeze.

“ _Fine_.  The Queen, _grandfather_ , the General, and the old gods are allowed to have ‘minions,’ it seems she calls them, to fight alongside them.  Apparently, as a prospective member of the Court _and_ a Guardian, I’m entitled to ‘minions’ of my own.  I can simply declare the rest of you my ‘minions’ and then you can help me.  I still have to defeat Boreas, Vetr, and the General in single combat, but you guys can protect me from their henchmen.”

Aster sauntered over to loom over Jack.  Jack grinned cheekily up at the Pooka.

“Am I simply a – _minion_ to you, mate?” he inquired dangerously.

“Of course not.  You’re much more important,” Jack replied dutifully.

“Good,” Aster said as he stepped back.

Jack smirked.  “You can be my _chief minion_.”

Jack ducked the swatting paw that immediately came his way, laughing.  Aster chuckled despite himself.

“So, are you going, mate?  I can come with you if you want.”

“I think so, yes.  And _of course_ you’re coming!  Who’d protect me from the big bad Boreas if he tried to attack me at the Tooth Palace?” Jack replied cheerfully, sidling up to the Pooka’s side and nuzzling his chin, self-marking.

Aster purred at Jack’s actions, teeth grinding quietly.

“Let’s go now.  I’ve got a tunnel that comes out just down the mountain from her Palace.”

“Awesome.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster watched Jack flit around as he hopped and climbed up the mountain to the Tooth Palace, obviously excited, but patiently, for once, waiting for Aster to navigate the rough terrain.  Bunny could privately admit that flight could be useful.  Sometimes.  _Maybe_.  Surmounting one final ridge, Aster gazed upon the Tooth Palace hidden in the huge crevasse below.

 _As shiny and stylized as ever_ , Bunny thought.

“Bunny!  I’m going to fly ahead and find Tooth!” Jack shouted as he took off, his excitement finally overcoming his patience.

“Go on then, you larrikin.  I’ll catch up.”

As Bunny navigated down the last few hundred feet to the roof of the nearest spire, he spotted a rare flower and stopped to have a look.

 _That’s a nice color_ , he mused, wishing he’d brought his sketchbook.

Mentally noting where the flower was in relation to the Tooth Palace so he could come back later and try to capture its image on paper, he finally made it down to the Palace proper and poked around until he found the sitting room where Tooth and Jack had retired to.              They were exchanging pleasantries while a mini-Fairy was off retrieving Jack’s tooth box.

Tooth turned to Bunny and exclaimed, “Bunnymund!  I didn’t realize you were coming too!”

“I didn’t want to leave Frostbite alone, just in case Boreas or Vetr attacked,” he replied with an easy roll of his shoulders.

“Oh!  Jack was just telling me about the letter that North sent over.  Isn’t it great that we can help him after all?”

“Ya tellin’ me, Tooth.”

Just as Aster was settling down on the stool Tooth had hastily procured for him, there came a knock on the doorframe behind him.  Glancing over, he saw someone he’d not seen in a month of Sundays, several times over.

“My my, three Guardians in one place.  I hope I’m not interrupting anything important, Toothiana.”

Standing in the doorway was a tall anthropomorphic avian, his black feathers shimmering in the light filtering through the beaded curtains on the windows; he was leaning against the doorframe with his feathered arms across his chest.  He had his clawed, bird-like feet crossed and was lightly tapping the tips of the claws on one foot lightly on the tiled floor.  He was naked save for a pair of low-riding khaki cargo shorts, his tail feathers spilling down the back.

Aster grinned as he exclaimed, “G’day cobber!  Ow-yar-goin, mate?”

Raven’s claws clicked lightly as he stepped into the room.  Aster got up to greet him, sharing a warm handshake.

“Nah sikhs.  Aster, it is good to see you.  I am doing well.  Kahta maika?”

“Kloshe mashie,” Aster replied easily.

As Bunny and Raven started rattling off together in Chinook, Jack leaned over to Tooth and asked, “Who’s that?”

“Have you not met Raven before?”

Jack shook his head.  “So that’s Raven then, huh?  I thought he’d be more – bird.”

“He’s a shapeshifter,” she offered by way of explanation.  “He tends to travel in bird form, but he prefers to interact with others in his anthro – is that the right word? – form.  He has a human form he uses too, usually when dealing with the shamans that occasionally call for his aid.”

“Ah, that explains it.  What’s he doing here?” Jack inquired.

Tooth blushed brightly and demurely responded, “He was coming to visit me.”

Jack grinned and lightly bumped her shoulder with his fist.

“Tooth, you naughty bird you.”

Tooth blushed brighter even as she smiled at Jack.

“Oh, stop it.  You’re making me blush.”

“Oi!  Frostbite, have you met Raven before?” Bunny asked as he and Raven moved to join the two Guardians talking quietly together.

“No, we have not met before, Aster.  More’s the pity.  Jack Frost.  I’ve heard much about you from Toothiana.”

Jack grinned.  “All good things, I hope.”

“Only wild tales of your misspent youth and the many pranks you’ve pulled on the other Guardians.  So, yes, all good things, I would say,” the Trickster god replied with a nod and a wink.

Jack grinned, before sobering and standing.

“It is an honor to finally meet you, Raven,” Jack said formally, offering his hand.

Raven shook it.

“And I you, Jack Frost,” Raven replied, equally as formal, before asking slyly, “I understand that there was quite the storm over Antarctica a few days ago.  I don’t suppose you’d know anything about that?”

Jack laughed and launched into an explanation of his kidnapping by Old Man Winter and the ‘training’ that was the result.  Bunny supplied his side of the tale, along with a few choice comments from Tooth.  Raven listened attentively.  The Trickster noticeably perked up when Jack mentioned his apparent ‘familial’ status with the ancient winter spirit.

Raven whistled softly before asking, “So, let me get this straight, the Old Man _asked_ you to call him ‘grandfather?’”

Jack nodded in confirmation.

A strange look passed over Raven’s face for a moment, before he asked, “I don’t suppose he called you ‘frostling’ as well, did he?”

Jack started in surprise at the question.

“Actually, he did.  Mother Nature called me the same thing when I met her a couple weeks ago.”

“I see,” Raven replied mysteriously.

“Do you know what it means?”

“Yes.”

Jack rolled his eyes at the concise reply.

“Could you explain it to me?”

“No.”

Jack spluttered, “Why?”

“It is not my place to do so.  I believe, as it is evident that Winter did not explain it to you either, that the appropriate phrase here would be ‘go ask your mother.’”

Jack sighed, long-suffering.  “That’s what he said when I asked too.”

“Then I advise you do so,” Raven offered wisely.

“Sure, sure.  When I’m not as likely to be skewered by General Winter as I am to see her, I’ll do just that,” Jack replied sarcastically.

Baby Tooth had arrived during the recounting of the events in Antarctica and had been hovering off to the side patiently.  She chose this moment to flit over to Toothiana and hand her Jack’s tooth box.  She then darted off to continue running things in Tooth’s stead.

“Ah, I see,” Raven said.  “Are those Jack’s mortal teeth?”

Tooth nodded, saying, “Yes.  I found one more of his missing teeth this morning.  That’s why he dropped by.”

“Do go on then.  Don’t let me interrupt you,” Raven replied, moving to stand.

“No!  Stay Raven.  I don’t mind,” Jack exclaimed.

“It is a very private matter though,” Raven returned, a frown evident in his voice, if not his beak.

“Seriously, I don’t mind.  It’s not like anyone but I see the memories anyway,” Jack said.  “Sit.  Please, I insist.”

“As you wish.”

Aster scooted his stool a bit closer to Jack’s chair and laid a hand on the back.  Bunny failed to notice when Raven eyed the motion contemplatively as he returned to his seat.

“Here Jack,” Toothiana said as she lifted out a small tooth and held it out to Jack.  “This was one of your lower lateral incisors.  The memories feel very happy, as most of your teeth do.”

Jack smiled at her as he took the tooth, before his face grew slack and his gaze grew distant for several minutes.  Aster and Raven chatted quietly in Chinook while Jack was lost in his memories.  Tooth was watching the sprite’s face closely.

Again, Bunny failed to notice, focused on Jack as he was despite the conversation, when Raven took note of the way he unconsciously seemed to lean towards Jack and occasionally touch his hand or his shoulder or his knee while the teen was zoned out in his memories.  The avian’s eyes glinted in growing suspicion just as Jack gasped, coming back to himself.

Jack handed Toothiana the small incisor with a murmur of thanks, before turning to Bunny and exclaiming, “I know my birthday!”

Bunnymund smiled fondly and replied, “Well, go on then, when is it?”

He failed to notice Raven’s head snap back in surprise as realization smacked the Trickster upside the head.

Before Jack could respond, Raven squawked, “Aster!  You’ve taken a _mate!_ ”

Bunny honked in surprise, his ears falling flat against his head in embarrassment.  Jack flushed brightly, turning a dark lavender and frosting over, his hair spiking out every which way.  Toothiana simply gaped at Raven for a moment before what he had said processed through her mind; she then squealed in delight as she turned to gaze at the two thoroughly embarrassed Guardians.

She reached out and lightly touched Jack’s hand to get his attention.

“Is it true?” she queried excitedly.

Jack nodded weakly, still overwhelmingly embarrassed.  Tooth squealed again and clasped her hands before her.

“Oh, I simply _must_ tell the girls!”

With that, she darted out the room, Jack raising a hand after her too late.  The sprite slumped back into his seat and sighed.

Raven shook himself out of his shock, saying, “I’m sorry Jack, Aster.  I didn’t mean to embarrass the two of you.  The realization just took me by surprise.”

Jack smiled weakly, his blush slowly fading.

“It’s alright, Raven.  They were bound to find out sooner or later,” Jack said, then turned to address Bunny.  “To answer your question, December 21st.”

Bunnymund favored Raven with a grin to demonstrate that there were no hard feelings.

“December 21st, eh Frostbite?  That’s coming up quite soon, you know.”

Jack nodded, grinning brightly despite his lingering blush.

Bunny then turned to address Raven, saying, “Yes, Raven, we’re together.  I’m not sure if I can properly call him my _mate_ quite yet, as it has only been a few weeks.  I’m sure she’ll be apples in the long run though.”

Jack made a face at Bunny.  “What does that even _mean_?”

Aster opened his mouth to explain.

Toothiana burst frantically back into the room.

“Jack!  Bunny!  The Aurora!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chinook Phrases, courtesy [this site](http://www.cayoosh.net/hiyu/):
> 
> Nah sikhs - Hello, friend.  
> Kahta maika? - How are you?  
> Kloshe mahsie - Good, thanks.
> 
> Ooo, cliffhanger!


	11. Boreas and Vetr

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boss Fight!

Jack, Bunny, and Raven sprang to their feet and rushed to follow Tooth outside.  Just as they reached the railing, a portal opened and Phil stepped through.

At least, Jack thought it was Phil.

The Yeti was covered in hurriedly applied blue Celtic-style war paint and not a few smatterings of ichor and blood.  He had a Yeti-sized Lochabar axe across his back on a leather harness, a snow globe in one hand, and a letter in the other, which he held out to Bunnymund, since he was closest.  Aster took it and quickly scanned the hastily scrawled note.

“The Workshop is under attack!  Boreas and Vetr have brought a large force of Winter spirits against North and the Yetis!” the Pooka snarled.

“Oh no!” Tooth exclaimed.

“Bastards!  They’re trying to draw me out!” Jack growled, before sharing a grim smile with Bunnymund.

“They’ve succeeded mate,” Bunny affirmed.  “But they won’t like the results, will they?”

Phil growled something in Yetish and made another portal back to the Workshop.

“Allow me to lend a feather,” Raven offered as large black wings sprouted from his back and his hands transformed into claws, which he brandished menacingly.  “Or perhaps a claw.”

“Who am I, to say no to a god?” Jack replied with a dark smirk.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The mountainside all around the Workshop was chaos.  Complete and utter chaos.  Yeti’s were wielding polearms in a wide range of styles against a similarly wide variety of foes – snowgres, icelings, Yuki-onna, Wendigo, and several other types of Winter spirits that Jack had only ever _heard_ of, let alone encountered.  The Yeti forces seemed to be evenly matched against the hordes of Winter, but Jack could see that the tide was slowly shifting, and not in the Yeti’s favor.

Phil’s portal had dropped them off on one of the highest balconies attached to the Workshop proper.  North stepped through the doors to meet them, already bloodied swords in hand and a brace of throwing daggers across his chest; several were missing.  Before they had a chance to say anything, the sound of an airplane engine echoed around them.  Jack looked up to see Sandy diving down straight for the Workshop.  He hopped out of the airplane as is dissipated and came to hover just above the balcony next to Jack.

“Добро пожаловать!  Это отличный бой!  Jack, these foes are yours.  What shall we do?” North inquired.

 “I have to take on Boreas and Vetr myself, but, as you found out from the Queen, the rest of you can fight the hordes out there.  So—” Jack replied hurriedly, before being interrupted.

“Nick!  The elves and I have prepared the siege equipment!  Throw the lever!” A British-accented woman’s voice echoed from within the Workshop.

“Сразу же моя жена!” North shouted back, stepping inside the balcony doorway and pulling a large lever that Jack hadn’t noticed before.

Jack gaped for a moment, before turning and asking Bunnymund, “Mrs. Claus, I presume?  I didn't know there actually _was_ one.”

Bunny nodded with a grin.  “Frige, yes.  She spends most of her time in the kitchens and the lower levels of the Workshop, managing the Iron Works.  I’m not surprised you haven’t met her yet.  It was several years before I met her for the first time.”

As soon as North pulled the lever, the sound of large, heavy gears grinding momentarily drowned out the din of battle as the roof of the Workshop open like the shutter on an old-style camera to reveal a rising platform bedecked with a variety of huge siege engines – ballistae, scorpions, catapults, and even one gigantic trebuchet – manned by a dizzying array of elves.

Standing in the center was a tall, dark-haired woman decked out in dark-toned fur and leather; she was holding a huge two-handed maul in one hand, which she was currently resting across one shoulder, and carrying a stylized arbalest in the other, carved to resemble a dragon about to breathe fire.  Jack thought she rather resembled an intimidating cross between a Celtic warrior and a mythical Amazon.  She looked to be nearly as tall as Bunnymund’s seven foot height, excluding the ears.  She too was wearing Celtic war paint, although hers appeared to have been meticulously applied, as if she wore it regularly.  Jack could make out her pleasantly accented voice barking out orders to the elves as the siege engines prepared to begin firing.

Turning back to the waiting Guardians, plus one, Jack ordered, “North, Sandy, Tooth.  Go help the Yetis.  Bunny, Raven, come with me.  I need you two to guard my back in case any of their flunkies get any bright ideas.”

With nods all around, Jack shot into the air, accompanied by Raven and Bunnymund, whom Jack gave a little push with the Wind to lengthen his jump.  They came to land near the summit of the mountain, above the highest tide of the battle.  Jack shouted into the sky, “Boreas!  Vetr!  Face me, you cowards!”

“A bit much, mate, don’t you think?”

Jack shrugged as angry shouts answered his taunt.  “It worked, didn’t it?”

Raven cawed in agreement just as Boreas’ athletic figure gracefully flew into view around the peak.  Jack noted that Boreas resembled pictures he’d seen of Greek hoplites, bedecked as he was in an authentic bronze-plated linothorax with accompanying feather-plumed Corinthian helm, greaves, and sandals, spear and hoplon at the ready, with a sword at his hip.  Vetr’s giant-like form followed shortly after, jumping from outcropping to outcropping, looking for all the world, in Jack’s opinion, like a pale blue-skinned, crazy-haired Hulk dressed up to go viking.  He was carrying a large battle axe and had several smaller axes strapped to his belt.

Vetr landed several dozen feet away from where Jack was hovering, flanked by Bunny and Raven; Boreas likewise came in to hover above and to the right of the Norse god.  Both looked quite pissed off.  Jack smirked at them as several dozen snowgres and two Wendigo moved up around the old gods.

“Coward!  Look at you, boy, cowering behind your _friends_ ,” Vetr growled, all but spitting the last word.  “You should know you have to fight us in single combat!”

“I do, in fact, know that, Vetr—”

A couple snowgres rushed forward opportunistically, only to be quickly defeated by Bunny’s boomerangs and Raven’s claws.

“Allow me to introduce you to my allies.  To my left, you can see my minion—”

“Oi!”

“– ‘scuse me, my _chief_ minion, the Vorpal Lagomorph.  On my right, the Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh,” Jack finished cheekily.

Raven crowed in amusement at Jack’s statement.  Boreas and Vetr look at Jack like he’d lost his mind.

Jack sighed.  “Philistines.  No one appreciates good humor these days.”

Raven squawked agreeably.

“In accordance with a letter from the Snow Queen herself, which North is in possession of, I, as a Guardian, am allowed minions, just like you.  I hereby formally declare the Guardians, Raven, and all of North’s Yetis and elves, my minions for the moment.”

Boreas spat, “ _Fine_ , but your friends cannot save you from our wroth!”

“Bring it on, windbag!” Jack rejoined as he swung his staff in an arc before him, firing a large wave of razor-sharp ice shards at the two gods and their entourage.  The gods both blocked the brunt of the blast directed at themselves with their shields, but half a dozen snowgres went down, blood spurting from several dozen wounds apiece.

Aster flung himself forward in a great leap, boomerangs flying and legs kicking, while Raven shot straight up before letting go with a predator’s screech and diving sharply downward, claws flashing, as both of them engaged the old gods’ followers.  Jack dashed up and away from the general melee, the two gods giving chase.

Meanwhile, the other three Guardians were assisting the Yetis in pushing back the bulk of the Winter horde.  North’s swords flashed in the sunlight, disarming – quite literally – many of the spirits around him.  Sandy’s whips snapped and cracked, snatching spirits by the neck, arm, or leg and bodily flinging them like living missiles into packs of other spirits, not unlike a strange form of bowling.  Tooth darted about above the crowded mountainside, scimitars flashing and the occasional head flying.  She was focusing on the more dangerous foes, such as the smattering of Wendigos throughout the horde.

Phil had rejoined the fight, guarding the entrance to the Workshop along with Earl and several other Yetis.  Above, Frige barked orders, in the hard voice only a drill sergeant possessed, to the elves that clambered over, under, and around the siege equipment.  The elves, in turn, were constantly reloading, aiming, and firing into the larger clumps of Winter spirits, the Yetis in the fray expertly dodging the enormous boulders and bolts with a grace born of long practice.

When several Wendigos managed to clamber up the side of the Workshop in order to destroy the siege machines, Frige shot the first full in the face with her arbalest, 5000 pounds of force completely obliterating the creature’s head.  The large gory bolt continued on, slamming a second Wendigo in the chest and flinging it from the siege platform.  Setting the arbalest aside, Frige readied her war maul and charged the remaining Wendigos with a guttural Brythonic battle cry.

Jack dodged and weaved the blasts of ice, wind, and snow shot his way by the two gods pursuing him, taunting them all the while and firing pot shots when the opportunity presented itself.  Reaching deep within himself, he pulled at the power that Old Man Winter had shown him lay hidden inside, just waiting to be used.  His eyes began to glow icily as he waited for the right moment to strike.

Boreas made the first mistake.

The god of the North Wind flung his spear with a mighty throw, the power of his North Wind flinging it faster than a bullet at Jack, giving the sprite no time to dodge.

Jack smirked.

Channeling the power he’d been hording into a powerful blast of his own Wind, he not only deftly blocked the spear, but spun it about in the air and shot it back with greater force at the dumbfounded Greek god, who barely managed to get his hoplon in place in time.

The spear and hoplon both shattered at the impact as Boreas was thrown to the ground, momentarily stunned, crashing into the mountainside with a resounding boom and causing a small avalanche, which the Yetis and Guardians on the ground deftly dodge by jumping or flying; North hurdled through a portal and joined his wife atop the siege platform to engage the remaining Wendigos.  Many of the Winter spirits were unprepared and were caught in the slide.

Thinking he could get the drop on Jack, Vetr sprung up from behind the sprite, swinging his heavy battle axe in a deadly downward slash.  Sensing Vetr’s aerial attack by the air the Norse god displaced, Jack flung his staff above his head, holding it solidly with two hands.  He managed to block the heavy blow in time, his staff sliding under the head and connecting solidly with the haft; before Vetr could do more than snarl over his failed attack, Jack performed an acrobatic flip to the side.

With the added force provided by a heavy gust of Wind, he caught the handle of the axe with the crook of his staff and wrenched it from Vetr’s hand, flinging it at Boreas as he rose from the snow and ice, clocking him across the back of the head with the heavy handle and sending his helmet flying.  Boreas himself was knocked into a roll down the mountainside.

Raven screeched in approval at the well-placed shot.

“Score!” Jack shouted.

“Jack, look out!” Bunny shouted right before Jack screamed in pain as a small axe struck his left thigh, leaving a deep gash.  In his distraction over his fancy maneuver, Jack had failed to notice Vetr throwing one of his hand axes at him.

Vetr drew another hand axe and sprung into another charge.  Jack’s eyes flashed in anger, the glow spiking and starting to trail an icy blue-white mist as he moved, not unlike an afterimage.  Ice formed along the shaft of his staff, shaping a sharp point at the butt end.  Jack dodged the blow and spun, catching Vetr around the neck with the crook before performing a forward flip, using his momentum and an upwards draft of Wind to fling the brute towards the mountain peak.

Vetr impacted with such force that the stone cracked loudly, several large pieces sliding downhill and crashing into the horde of Winter spirits.  Sandy caught them with his whips and flung them over and beyond the Workshop.  Jack took a free moment to freeze over the gash in his thigh.

Boreas had recovered from his tumble, bruised and battered.  Blood was running down one side of his face in rivulets from a small laceration on his forehead, making it difficult for the god to see out of his right eye.  Boreas had drawn his sword and was flying at Jack in a swift charge.  Jack blocked the first swing, the second, and the third.  The forth made it just past his defenses and nicked his right arm, causing him to hiss in pain.

Jack redoubled his efforts and snuck in a spray of tiny ice shards directly in Boreas’ good eye.  The god screamed and recoiled, giving Jack the opening he needed to drive the ice-sharpened butt of his staff into Boreas gut.  The god grunted in shock right before Jack planted both of his feet on Boreas’ chest and, with a powerful double kick, launched them away from each other, just in time to dodge the flying hand axe he’d noticed out of the corner of his eye.

Boreas fell like a meteor straight into a crevasse to one side of the mountain.  He did not return to the fray.

Jack turned his flight into a spin just in time to deflect another melee strike from Vetr who flew past in another failed leaping strike.  Jack, with a heavy gust from the Wind and an acrobatic pirouette, shifted the vector of his momentum such that he flew in pursuit of Vetr.  Vetr landed and spun to block Jack’s incoming strike with his shield just in time.

They traded several dozen blows before Jack managed to hit Vetr in the face with a swiftly conjured snowball.  Momentarily blinded, Vetr was unable to prevent Jack from hooking his left foot with the crook of his staff and pulling his legs out from under him.  Vetr tumbled down the mountainside, crashing into a tight knot of retreating snowgres just as a large boulder landed amongst them, launched by the trebuchet.  The rock cracked open after a moment and Vetr stood shakily, struggling to bring his axe and shield to bear.  Jack flit over to hover several yards uphill from Vetr’s position, noticing in passing that the others were mopping up the last of the spirits who were not retreating.

Pointing the crook of his staff, which was now smoking in a manner reminiscent of dry ice, Jack asked in a hard voice, eyes glittering icily, “Do you yield?”

Vetr tried to lift his axe, found he could not, and then slumped forward to one knee.  Vetr continued to glare at Jack and remained silent.  After a moment his eyes went wide in shock.

Jack didn’t bother turning around, as he could sense the diamond dust coalescing behind him.  He figured it was probably on purpose.  After a moment, a heavy hand landed on his shoulder.

Without glancing away from Vetr, Jack asked Old Man Winter, somewhat rhetorically, “Do I _have_ to kill him, _grandfather_?”

Old Man Winter chuckled darkly.

“I yield, I yield!” Vetr shouted in a panic, staring back and forth between the towering form of Old Man Winter and Jack in growing horror.

Apparently, the idea of Jack being somehow related to the ancient spirit was extremely frightening.

 _Go figure_ , Jack thought sarcastically.

A little girl screamed in fright somewhere off to Jack’s right.

 _No, wait,_ Jack thought, amused.  _That’s Boreas._

Sure enough, when Jack turned to look, Boreas was high-tailing it away from the Workshop as fast as his North Wind could carry him.  Jack turned back to face Vetr.

“Go, then.  And do not trouble me again,” the sprite commanded.

Vetr bowed his head in submission and began shuffling wearily down the mountainside.  Jack glanced up at Old Man Winter when he felt the hand on his shoulder squeeze him gently.

Winter smiled faintly at Jack.

“Good work, frostling.  Only one more battle lies before you.  Go, now, see to those wounds.  Enjoy your victory with your friends.”

Jack smiled at the recognition, bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, and flew back down to the Workshop as Winter dispersed once more into snowflakes on the wind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russian:
> 
> Добро пожаловать! Это отличный бой!  
> Welcome back! This is a great battle!
> 
> Сразу же моя жена!  
> Immediately my wife!
> 
> If anyone is curious about the usage of 'viking' as a verb, see [Viking#Etymology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikings#Etymology) on Wikipedia for an explanation of the Old Norse roots
> 
> \------------
> 
> The Vorpal Lagomorph (or, rather, the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog) and Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrggggghhhhh belong to Monty Python, of course.
> 
> ... ... ...
> 
> NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH INQUISITION!!!
> 
> XD


	12. After The Battle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lame chapter title is lame. I got nothing. Sorry for that. Will do better next time. XD

Jack landed on the balcony where he’d originally arrived during the battle.  The doors were still wide open.  Glancing around outside, he saw that he was the last to return, so he shut the doors as he entered the Workshop.  The main floor was cleared of toys for the time being and had been turned into a makeshift triage unit.  Not that it seemed the Yetis needed it much.  The sprite could see several Yetis with missing limbs being pressed together, stump to stump, and watched in perverse fascination as he limped by when the flesh began knitting back together.

Jack passed Phil having a Wendigo’s severed _hand_ being removed from his stomach, the flesh already closing around the wound.

 _Huh,_ Jack thought, intrigued.  _So Yetis regenerate.  Awesome._

The other Guardians were all grouped together in an open sitting room at the back of the main floor.  Raven and Frige were with them.  Bunnymund rushed over when he saw Jack limping.

“Frostbite, you drongo, you’re bleeding everywhere!” the Pooka exclaimed, picking Jack up bodily and moving him to sit on a nearby table.

“Hey!” Jack complained ineffectually.

Frige grabbed some medical supplies and moved to treat his wounds along with Aster.  Jack sighed gustily and submitted to the treatment.  After he was all bandaged and medicated, Bunnymund insisted on carrying him into the sitting room and claimed a couch for just the two of them.  Bunny sat in one corner and laid Jack down lengthwise across it, the sprite’s head resting in the Pooka’s lap.  Jack was contemplating moving until Aster began stroking his hair lightly.

 _Maybe I_ can _stay here for a bit,_ Jack thought as he hummed contentedly.

Aster ground his back teeth softly in response.

Jack still found all the rabbit-like mannerisms the Pooka had to be quite adorable.  The sprite began to rub gentle, wandering circles on Aster’s thigh with his fingertips.  The soft grinding shifted to a moderately louder purr.  Raven and Jack shared a grin at the change.  Sandy quirked an eyebrow inquiringly, gesturing between Jack and Aster, forming a tiny heart out of sand in his hand.  Jack nodded sheepishly, but Sandy only smiled warmly and waved off Jack’s worry, giving him a thumbs-up.

Tooth and Raven were sharing a loveseat, while North had taken over a large armchair and had produced a long-stemmed, intricately carved tobacco pipe from somewhere.  He was puffing away serenely.  Sandy was sprawled in the middle of the floor on a huge bean bag chair, placed such that everyone could see his images without him having to move around the room to communicate.  A second armchair next to North currently sat empty, as Frige had left to change into something more comfortable.  A warm fire was burning in a fireplace off to one side.

After several minutes of content silence, Sandy got Jack’s attention with a wave.  Sandy then flashed Jack several images of his fight with Boreas, including the dreamsand mini-Boreas pantomiming a scream and flying away.  Jack laughed in response.

“I’d wondered where that scream came from, mate.  He really did that?” Bunny asked.

Jack nodded happily against the Pooka’s thigh.

“My only regret is I failed to stab him where I intended, Sandy.”

Sandy nodded knowingly, but the others wore confused frowns.  Raven’s curiosity overcame him first.

“Did you intend to strike a killing blow then, Jack?  Through the heart?” he asked, cocking his head to the side inquiringly.

Jack chuckled darkly.

“No.  My aim wasn’t too low, it was _too high_.”

Aster choked above him and looked down in surprise.  Tooth gasped.  North looked confused.  Sandy nodded as if this made complete and total sense.  Raven was trying not to laugh.

“Frostbite?”

“Yes?” Jack replied innocently.

“Why were you aiming for his bollocks?”

North choked on his just-inhaled smoke.  Jack sat up, despite the unhappy grunt from Bunny, and looked around the room before he explained.

“Boreas still practices pederasty.   _Very_ predatorily, I might add.  He propositioned me several years after I’d become a spirit.  When I refused his advances, in no uncertain terms, he got angry and attempted to – to _force_ copulation.  I wasn’t yet in full command of my powers, so I was no match for the god.  If Sandy hadn’t shown up and chased him off, things could have gotten pretty ugly.  The way you defenestrated him is still one of my fondest memories, Sandy.”

Aster snarled something under his breath, of which Jack only caught “boomerang” and “bollocks.”  Raven was contemplating his claws with a deep scowl.  Tooth and North were too busy being shocked to have any other reaction for the moment.

After a minute, North cleared his throat and inquired innocently, “I do not know this word, ‘defenestrated.’  What does it mean?”

Sandy motioned for everyone’s attention.  He replayed the incident with his dream sand.

Mini-Jack had his back against the wall of a building, mini-Boreas looming over him, the god’s hand tightly gripping mini-Jack’s arm.  Mini-Sandy appears over the rooftop and flings a whip down to grab mini-Boreas.  The scene pauses for a moment as a row of glass-faced storefronts materialize across the dream sand street.  Mini-Boreas was then flung bodily by mini-Sandy’s whip through the entire block's-worth of windows, before being let go to crash into what appears to be a dream sand china shop.

Raven almost fell off the loveseat laughing; Tooth tried to prevent him from doing so, while she likewise tried, and failed, to hold her own giggling in.  Bunnymund _did_ fall off the couch, clutching his stomach; with as hard he was laughing, he didn’t seem to notice.

North nods seriously.  “I see.  Throw through window, da?”

Raven and Bunny looked at North’s serious expression, then at each other, and proceeded to fall over laughing all over again.

Jack grinned at the two giggling buffoons, sharing a shrug with Sandy over their antics, while North gazed at them in confusion.  Jack thought that was fast becoming his regular state of mind.

“What has caused those two to behave in such a manner?” Frige’s crisp British accent floated in from the doorway.

Jack turned and opened his mouth, but froze as he stared.  Where once there had been a somewhat frightening warrior woman, there now stood before him a lady of obviously good breeding and poise.

Frige’s dark hair – which Jack only now noticed had an off-center, inch-wide dark grey streak to one side – was done up in a tasteful bun, two elegant ivory hairsticks holding it in place, with a small fall of hair down the back of her neck from the underside of the bun.  She wore no makeup, save for two thin, understated lines of blue paint adorning her cheekbones, which brought out the blue tones in her teal eyes.

While there were faint age lines on her face, they only added to her attractiveness, giving the suggestion of maturity without marring her beauty.  She was wearing a dark green silk gown, in a style Jack recognized from the 19th century that had been common amongst noblewomen performing the duties of a hostess.  She was accompanied by several elves carrying refreshments.

Her overall appearance kicked Jack in his Colonial-raised instincts _hard_.  He immediately shot to his feet and went to greet her as a proper guest should.

“My Lady Friday, how lovely of you to grace us with your company.  I hope it would not be too forward of me to remark on the fine craftsmanship I can plainly see in your attire,” he said formally, with a small bow over her hand once he’d captured it.  “Won’t you please have a seat?  I’m sure the elves can manage just fine without your illustrious presence.”

Frige blushed faintly, before she let go with a light, tinkling laugh of surprise.  Smiling warmly at Jack, she nodded her head politely in turn and accompanied him back to the couch as the elves placed the refreshments on a nearby table.  Jack held her hand lightly as she sat down; he only moved to do the same once she was settled.  They immediately began exchanging pleasantries, oblivious to the utter silence around them for several minutes.

“Is that Jack Frost?” Raven stage-whispered to Bunnymund.

“I think so.  I’m not sure,” Bunny replied in kind, wide-eyed as he watched the interplay between the Dragon Lady of the North and the usually carefree and imprudent Guardian of Fun.

Bunny then asked, in his own stage-whisper, “Should someone check him for a fever?”

North boomed a laugh at the byplay while Jack and Frige pointedly ignored the two.

“You forget Jack was raised proper British Colonial!  His manners are of that period!” North observed as he continued chuckling.

Frige glanced at North, acknowledging his statement with a slight frown, before turning back to Jack, inquiring politely, “My husband has reminded me of your origins just now.  Is it true you were born before the Acts of Union?”

Jack smiled politely in kind, replying, “It is, my lady.  I was born in 1694 and was a boy of thirteen years when we received the news of the Acts forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain.  I remember distinctly that there was a great deal of surprise that the Scottish Parliament had accepted the union, but we were much relieved that the kingdom would not be torn apart were Queen Anne to pass suddenly.”

Frige smiled in reply, saying, “Ah, yes.  Of course.  As my Nicholas has said, that would explain the wonderful manners you seem to have taken to heart and remember so well, even after all this time.”

“It was your arrival that prompted me to such an endeavor, my lady.  The others have not pushed me to behave in such a manner, save for Toothiana, and even then only because she is such a wonderful lady in her own right.”

Bunny, Raven, and Frige turned to look at Tooth.

“His manners are such a lovely thing to experience, I can wholeheartedly agree,” Tooth affirmed, blushing at Jack's compliment.

Bunny couldn’t stand it anymore and hopped up off the floor and grabbed Jack by his shoulders.

“Who are you and what have you done with the Guardian of Fun?”

Jack responded with a snowball in Bunny’s face, grinning cheekily all the while.  Bunny spluttered as he removed the remains of the snowball .

“There’s the Jack I know and l–” Bunny said tiredly, before abruptly shutting his mouth with a clack, uncomfortably aware of the spike in interest around the room.

“Yes, do tell, my dear Aster.  What do you really think of our young charge?” Frige asked, an edge in her voice, promising death if he didn't immediately respond.

“Like.  Yes, that’s it.  Like.  _Definitely_ like,” the Pooka babbled, before stuffing his paw in his mouth to shut himself up.  His ears had gone flat on the back of his head in embarrassment.

Jack chuckled fondly at Bunny’s inability to express himself in front of others.  He stood with a parting pleasantry to Frige, before moving to lightly grasp both of Bunnymund’s paws in his smaller hands.  Bunny eyed him warily.  Jack cocked his head contemplatively at Bunnymund before abruptly standing on tip toe to kiss the startled Pooka chastely on the lips.

Tooth sighed happily while Frige let out a soft ‘oh!’ of surprise.  North nodded knowingly, leaning back in his armchair and taking a fresh pull on his pipe.  Raven appeared surprised at the ease with which Jack had managed the maneuver, knowing all too well, from personal experience, how much Bunnymund resisted public displays of affection.  Sandy smiled cheerfully, while all the elves still present, as well as the Yetis outside the open doors, all gaped in surprise.

The kiss grew slightly heated as Aster sighed into it, obviously relaxing since his ears stood up from where they had been plastered to his skull.  He freed one of his paws from Jack’s light grasp, only to snake it around the sprite’s waist and pull him flush against the Pooka’s body.  Jack hummed happily in response, but made sure to end the kiss before anything untoward happened.  He then nestled into Bunny’s chest fur contentedly, humming happily once more.  Bunny glanced around at the others with a helplessly sheepish, yet positively content, smile on his face.

During the pause in conversation, Frige had moved to sit next to North and the two had begun conversing quietly, letting the others have their byplay.  Sandy drifted over to hover near them as well, so as to give Jack and Bunny some space.  With a sudden yawn, the Guardian of Dreams, like the narcoleptic he was, promptly fell asleep where he hovered.

“You were never that openly affectionate when _we_ spent time together,” Raven mock-pouted at Bunnymund after several more seconds had passed.

Jack pulled back enough in Aster’s grasp to stare up at the Pooka, wide-eyed.  “You and Raven?”

Aster’s ears drooped again in mild embarrassment as he replied, “Yeah.  Raven has volunteered regularly to help me through my seasons.”

“What about Tooth?”

“I am fully supportive of Raven’s involvement with Aster, Jack.  I am a very busy fairy and cannot always _attend_ to his needs - and goodness knows Bunny truly needs the companionship during those times - but I know where his heart belongs.  That is all that matters,” Tooth replied, blushing lightly at her own phrasing, even though it earned her a loving cuddle with the aforementioned avian.

“Is that a problem, Jack?” Raven inquired warily.

Aster nodded his agreement with the question.

In lieu of an answer, Jack reached up and gently pulled one of Aster’s ears down so that he could whisper provocatively, “Does that mean Raven could join us on occasion?”

Bunny froze in shock, staring wide-eyed yet again at the now sinfully smirking sprite.  Raven squawked in surprise behind Jack.  Jack glanced over his shoulder and confidently favored Raven with the same smirk.  Raven seemed interested despite himself, if his return gaze was any indication.

Tooth simply rolled her eyes at the exchange, all too aware of the libidos involved.  She did lightly tap Raven’s beak in mock-reprimand, however, which earned her more cuddles.  That seemed to satisfy her.

 _Note to self,_ Jack thought, in only mild embarrassment, as a slight lavender tinge colored his cheeks.  _Raven has very good hearing._

At Aster’s continued shocked gaze, Jack slyly whispered, “Guardian of _Fun_ , remember?  That doesn’t _only_ mean childish pranks and snow days.”

The Pooka blinked several times, before his gaze grew heated in turn as he whispered, “You’re a _very_ naughty boy, Snowflake.  We can talk about that – _intriguing_ – possibility later, after _I_ have first claimed _you.”_

Jack flushed darkly at Bunny’s pronouncement, his secondary frost blush coating his cheeks and momentarily spiking his hair.  Raven crowed lightly in delight.

A moment later, a thought occurred to Jack.  "Snowflake?"

Bunnymund was so embarrassed Jack could see the blush under his fur.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

An hour later, after more pleasantries and banter, the group started to disband, but were interrupted by the arrival of a missive from the Snow Queen, which coalesced into being not unlike Old Man Winter.  Jack decided then and there that he _really_ needed to figure that trick out soon.  Jack snagged the letter and quickly perused it, before letting out a whoop of victory.

“What is it, Jack?” Tooth inquired.

Jack’s joy was infectious even before he relayed the Queen’s message.

“She praises me for my valor in combat first and foremost, and at great length.  It’s kind of embarrassing.  She then points out that the attack on the Workshop is a violation of the rules that govern an open season.  Therefore, in light of these events, the Snow Queen has set a deadline of the Winter Solstice for a final confrontation between me and General Winter.”

“That doesn’t sound too good, mate.”

“It gets better.  The General has to initiate the confrontation with me _personally_ ; no minions, no attacking my allies.  If he is unwilling, or _unable_ , to do so by the deadline, she will officially declare the open season on me to have ended, _in my favor_.  All I have to do is hide out in the Warren for a couple more weeks and I’ll be free of this whole mess without having to risk _dying_!” Jack exclaimed cheerfully.

“Oh, Jack, that’s wonderful news!  And the Solstice falls on your birthday this year!” Tooth exclaimed excitedly.

“Is that so?” Frige inquired.  “Well, in that case, we should give our youngest Guardian a proper party!  Here, at the Workshop!”

“Is good idea!  We celebrate your success and your birth, all in one!  We must make plans!” North added, immediately warming up to the idea.

Jack could only smile helplessly, he was so overwhelmed by the reaction and the offer of a party, _just for him_.  Bunny hugged him with one arm supportively.

“They can make their plans without us, mate.  Let’s go back to the Warren.”

Jack slid a sly gaze up to Aster, who quirked a brow inquiringly.

“Y’know, Kangaroo, I’ve been thinking,” Jack said, contracting his words in an uncharacteristically shy manner.

Aster grunted at the nickname, saying, “A dangerous pastime, that.”

Jack punched him lightly in the arm for his cheek.  “Maybe I could, y’know, start calling the Warren _home_?  Y’know, if you want to, that –”

Aster interrupted Jack, shouting in his surprise.  “You want to _move in_ with me?  I – I – yes!  Yes, of course!  Are you sure, mate?”

“I wouldn’t have said anything if I wasn’t, you silly Kangaroo,” Jack rejoined cockily, despite his renewed blush at the attention Bunny’s shout had called upon them.

Tooth squealed delightedly.  Raven and Frige favored them with warm expressions of approval.

“Is good idea!  Jack and Aster partners now, should live together!”

Sandy, who’d awoken several minutes before, gave them two thumbs-up.

Jack smiled his thanks at his friends’ endorsements, overwhelmed once again by the stark contrast between this scene and his life only a scant year before.

 _Life is good_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack! You just inadvertently invoked Murphy's Law! Bad Guardian, bad! XD
> 
> *ahem* Pardon me. I agree with the rest of you writers, the characters really do write themselves sometimes!
> 
> \---  
> [Pederasty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pederasty), on Wikipedia, for those unfamiliar with the ancient practice.


	13. Jack Knows a Few Tricks And Learns One More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. I spent most of Saturday and Sunday out with friends whom I've not had the occasion to see in ... half a year or so. It was great fun, but it necessitated a delay. ^_^
> 
> Per a request from vulpineTrickster, my art references for a couple of characters: [Old Man Winter](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V5FDgmNofJw/TpWABeHI1pI/AAAAAAAAJO4/tBrBXg6qA-c/s1600/TS%2Bold%2Bman%2Bwinter%2B-image.jpg) and [Raven](http://www.furaffinity.net/view/9062050/).
> 
> The other OCs I've not used references for, except the General, but I'll not show him off until you guys meet him. ^_^
> 
> While I'm at it, here's some Bunny/Jack art I've found, which I like, just for fun:  
> [here](http://hootsweet.deviantart.com/art/Jack-and-Bunny-348762113), [here](http://kiu1023.deviantart.com/art/BUNNYJACK-350427985), and [here](http://kiu1023.deviantart.com/art/JACK-and-BUNNY-348239657).

Jack and Bunnymund left the Workshop and returned to the Warren after saying their goodbyes.  As they were walking back to the burrow, Bunnymund paused and addressed Jack.

“Do you feel like we’re moving our relationship forward too fast, mate?”

Jack hopped into the air and brought himself to hover at eye-level with the Pooka.

“No, for several reasons.  Would you like to hear them?”

Bunny nodded as he leaned back against a nearby Sentinel and crossed his arms across his chest.

“Firstly, yes, I agree that, on the surface, the – sexual component of our relationship seems to be progressing swiftly, along with our emotional involvement.  However, appearances can be deceiving and are, in our case.”

“How do you figure, mate?”

“Well, we actually met, what,” Jack paused to count.  “46 years ago?  I don’t know when you might have started developing any feelings for me, whether you were aware of them or not, but, for me, my attraction began then.  In that respect, our relationship is a long time in coming.  In addition, we interacted, albeit antagonistically, on and off over the course of those 46 years.  This bred familiarity, even if you wanted to strangle me half the time.”

Bunny grinned.  “I did, at that.”

Jack smiled cheekily as he continued, “So.  We’ve known each other for a long time.  Then the whole Pitch thing happened: I was made a Guardian, we fought together, and _fought_ together, but, in the end, we came out something closer to friends than antagonistic acquaintances.  Sure, I still pulled pranks on you, but you started giving as good as you got – well, _some_ of the time.”

Bunny smirked.

“By the time I, um, accidentally confessed, we were functioning as proper friends.  You even volunteered to take care of me, the sometimes-bane-of-your-existence, when I was injured.”

Bunny snorted.  “Not just sometimes, mate.”

Jack stuck his tongue out irreverently, before saying, “After I confessed my attraction, you needed only a couple minutes to decide I was worth the effort of a relationship.  By my understanding of psychology and whatnot, that usually indicates that you felt at least a _little_ something for me, even if you were unawares at the time.  I’ll admit, as much of a pessimist as I was regarding the possibility of us _ever_ getting together, there were times over the last year that you behaved in such a way that made me hope, if only just a little.”

Bunny shoved off the Sentinel and moved to lightly embrace Jack where he hovered.  The Pooka rubbed their noses together gently.

“It’s nice to know I was spreading hope to you, even if I never knew it at the time.  Some part of me wishes I’d figured it out sooner.  Can you forgive me, mate?”

Jack kissed Aster’s nose lightly, and then said, “There’s nothing to forgive, Aster.  I – I’m pretty sure that I, that is, um, oh _bother_ –”

Aster smiled gently.  “Jack Frost, are you trying to say that you love me?”

Jack grinned helplessly, his lavender and frost blush staining his cheeks.  “Yes.”

Bunny hugged Jack tightly as he said, “I don’t think I’m quite there yet, myself, mate, but I can safely say you’re doing a great job dragging me there with you.  All I ask is some more time to catch up.”

Jack hugged Bunnymund back fiercely for long minutes, the two just enjoying each other’s presence in comfortable silence.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

As the pair returned to the burrow, Bunny came to a decision.  Grinning devilishly, he quietly followed Jack back to their nest.  It had been a long day and it was getting late, so it was obvious Jack was thinking of bed.  Aster had other plans.

When Jack started walking down the long hallway that led from the front rooms to the nest, Bunny snagged the teen by his hood and grabbed him around the waist.  Spinning him around, Aster flipped Jack over his shoulder, Jack’s head ending up just above his tail.

“Hey!” Jack exclaimed, smacking Bunny’s rump with one hand.

Aster simply purred in response.  Jack immediately cottoned on to the idea.

“Oh?  Does the big, bad Easter Bunny have plans for little ol’ me?” Jack teased.

Aster nipped Jack’s arse.  He could feel the sprite’s penis harden in response.

Jack gasped.  “Feeling frisky, are you?”

“More than a little.  To the victor go the spoils, mate,” Aster purred heatedly.

Jack shivered at the tone in the Pooka’s voice.

When they reached the nest proper, Aster unceremoniously flopped Jack down on his back amongst the pillows.

“Strip,” he commanded, voice dropping an octave in his desire.

Jack shuddered at the silkily seductive voice and quickly complied.  The sprite shortly stood completely naked before the Pooka, who was gazing at Jack with eyes already gone nearly black.  Jack moaned softly at the sight.  Aster slowly untied his bracers and footwraps, tossing them on the small table off to the side he kept for this purpose.  The bandolier quickly followed.

Jack lay sprawled in the nest amongst the pillows and blankets and shivered again as the Pooka stalked over to him, gaze hungrily devouring the sight of all the sprite’s pale, perfect skin and flushed, rigid cock.  Aster knelt between Jack’s legs and placed his cool nose just under Jack’s sack to sniff deeply at the teen’s scent.

“You smell so bloody _good_ , mate,” Aster growled before shifting his muzzle slightly and licking at the tight pucker nestled between Jack’s firm cheeks.

Jack groan long and loud at the unfamiliar but deeply arousing sensation as his lover began to give him a good rimming.  After a couple minutes of this treatment, the tongue left him and he whined piteously, to which Aster responded with a dark chuckle, before the sprite moaned anew as Aster began laving his balls gently with his tongue.

Aster pulled back for a moment and carefully nipped Jack’s inner thigh, earning himself a gasp and a strong twitch of the flushed organ right in front of his eyes.  A small bead of precum formed at the tip.  Leaning forward, Aster allowed his chin fur to lightly graze the sensitive flesh of the shaft, earning yet another gasp, before he lightly licked the tip of Jack’s penis, tasting the sprite for the first time.

_Cool, almost –_

Aster’s eyes went wide.

“Jack, did you know that you taste _minty_?” Aster purred lustfully.

Jack glanced down and groaned at the sight of Aster’s mouth hovering just above the head of his cock.  It took him several moments, and a bite to his own lip to silence the groan, to be able to nod, blushing as he did so.

Bunny chuckled.  “Tasted yourself, have you?  Jackie boy, how very naughty of you.”

Jack managed a cocky grin.  “More than that, Aster.  I can _suck myself off_.”

Aster groaned and shivered at the images that conjured in his mind.

“Prove it.”

Jack grinned excitedly and asked, “Does the thought of that turn you on, Aster?”

Bunny groaned as he dropped back on his haunches to give Jack room to lift his legs over his head.  The Pooka shifted so he could see Jack from the side.  Flipping his legs over his head, Jack carefully placed the balls of his feet on the nest and flexed his muscles as he slowly exhaled.  After several seconds of this, Jack lifted his head slightly, one eye on Aster, and licked the tip of his cock.

Aster groaned at the sight as he began to touch himself, unable to _not_ do so in response to the intensely erotic image Jack made.

Jack tilted his head just so and began lightly thrusting in and out of his own mouth, as first two, and then three, inches made it past the sprite’s lips.  After another minute had passed, Jack was, to Aster’s complete amazement, to just barely able to touch his nose to his tightening ball sack as it hung down slightly over the base of his shaft.  Jack and Aster both moaned in response, Jack to the sensations and Aster at the shear sinful eroticism.

“ _Jack_ ,” Aster groaned.  “That’s enough.  I have other plans for you tonight, you horrible, _amazing_ tease.”

Jack carefully pulled out of his mouth and unrolled his body gently with a sigh.  His back popped slightly as he uncurled.

“Doesn’t that hurt, mate?”

“Nah,” Jack replied breathlessly.  “My spine always does that afterward, but it doesn’t hurt.  I’m fine.  I’d be _way_ more than fine if you’d just get over here already.”

Aster didn’t need any more encouragement than that.

Returning to his chosen task, he moved back to hover over Jack’s now lightly throbbing and damp cock, but instead of touching it he chose for a moment to lightly breathe on it while looking up to meet Jack’s eyes.  Jack groaned.

“ _Now_ who’s the bloody tease?”

Aster chuckled at Jack’s borrowing of his own slang before slowly reaching out with his tongue to lap at the head.  After several licks, and another moan from the sprite beneath him, he leaned down and took the first several inches into his muzzle, sucking lightly.  Over the next few minutes, he took more and more of Jack into his muzzle, slowly, teasingly bring Jack closer, until he was just at the brink.  The sprite was now writhing beneath him and had lightly grabbed both of Bunny’s ears, tugging at them gently whenever Aster did something particularly enticing with his tongue or sucked particularly hard.

Finally taking all of Jack in his muzzle, Aster positioned his head just so and sucked long and _hard_.  Jack came suddenly with a shout followed by a long, ecstatic moan.  Bunny didn’t let a single drop of Jack’s remarkably flavored seed escape.

Aster slid up Jack’s side to kiss the teen languidly, only to groan in surprise when Jack’s fingers quickly found his erection.  Before he could properly respond, Jack dove down and engulfed his shaft, immediately deep throating the Pooka.  It only took another minute for Jack to wring an orgasm from Bunny with the speed and intensity of his actions.

The two relaxed back into each other’s embrace and languidly kissed afterward, before Jack nestled himself into Aster’s chest fur with a pleased hum.

“You spoil me,” Jack whispered.

“’Cause I think you’re too good to me sometimes, mate.  I have to return the favor.  Wherever did you learn to do _that_ though?”

“What, sucking myself off?” Jack asked.

Aster nodded, before adjusting their position slightly to start chinning Jack’s hair.

“I saw a video of some crazily flexible guy doing it sometime in the last couple decades.  I thought I’d give it a try, since I’m eternally trapped in a teenager’s body,” Jack explained, before adding slyly, peeking up at Aster, “I’m pretty sure I could suck a guy off _while_ screwing them.”

Aster groaned at the images Jack put in his mind.

“You kinky little larrikin.  The images you put in my head!”

“Does the idea turn you on?” Jack teased.

“You have no idea, mate,” Aster replied breathlessly.

Jack felt a slightly moist poke at his hip.  Jack reached down to stroke the Pooka’s renewing erection.

“Already?  The idea _does_ turn you on!”

“I’m a _bunny_ , mate.  You bending over turns me on.”

Jack grinned as he bent down to pleasure his Pooka all over again.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

The next couple of weeks flew by.  Jack and Aster spent time sparring, gardening, and relaxing together, in turn.  They stayed within the Warren the entire time and, despite Jack starting to get restless, things were going pretty smoothly.  Their budding relationship floated along at much the same level for the duration, neither quite yet ready to push it to the next stage, content as they were exploring each other, physically and emotionally, for now.

Two days before his newfound birthday, Jack decided it was time to figure out Old Man Winter’s traveling trick.  He had discussed it at length with Bunnymund, who decided that an out-of-the-way corner of the Warren would be a perfect practice field.  As both of them were unsure of what fallout, if any, there might be to Jack’s practice, they agreed that Bunny would stay out of the way while Jack was working.

“I have a couple errands to run, but I think I’ll go see the little ankle-biter afterwards,” Aster had said.

“Sophie?  Okay!  Say hello to Jamie for me!”

“Will do, Frostbite.”

Now Jack found himself alone in an unused corner of the Warren.  Bunny had told him that, in true agricultural practice, this section of the Warren was to remain fallow for the next several years, to let the soil replenish.  Unlike human farmers, however, his fields were much more robust and resilient, due to the magic resulting from him being a spirit of Spring, and, thusly, only needed to be changed out every few decades.

As a result, he had four large fields that he rotated on a decade by decade basis, which left each field in use for thirty years and fallow for ten.  These fields produced all the foodstuffs eaten by the Pooka, the medicinal herbs he used, and grew the plants that provided the bases and pigments for all his paints.  The bulk of the eggplants were grown in a special separate section of the Warren, along with a smattering of the plants throughout the huge place.

Jack stood in the center of the field, his staff held before him, butt firmly planted in the ground.  He thought back on the times he’d so far experienced Old Man Winter’s, for want of a better, teleportation.  It wasn’t exactly that, as he did cross the intervening space – albeit at speeds beyond imagining.  The sensation was quite unique in Jack’s experience, but not altogether unlike dying and being reborn.  The same sense of letting go and then coming back together permeated both experiences.

He wasn’t sure how long he’d stood there – it could have been mere minutes, though it felt more like hours, and was most likely somewhere between those two extremes – but he eventually started to get frustrated that nothing was happening.  He tried to remain patient, he really did.

“Oh _come on_!  This can’t be that hard!” he growled loudly.

A deep chuckle floated by on the wind.

“So, frostling, you wish to learn my tricks so soon, do you?” Old Man Winter whispered in his ear.

“ _Yes!_   The way you travel could be so damn useful!”

“It took me a long time to perfect that trick, frostling.  A _very_ long time, longer than your mate has been alive, in fact.  However, I applaud your efforts so far.  What you are missing, little one, is the understanding of how to imagine where you wish to go.  Here, let me show you.”

With that statement, Jack felt himself disperse into snowflakes, slower than before, which allowed him to savor the sensation of letting go, and then he drifted several feet, before reforming, just as slowly.  It made a strange sort of sense, when he thought about it.

“Now, you try, frostling,” the spirit whispered in his ear, a slight breeze mussing his hair in passing.

Focusing hard, Jack willed himself to just simply _let go_.  And it was so.

He materialized upside down about a foot above where he’d been standing and promptly fell on his head.

“Ow…” Jack groaned as he righted himself.

“Tsk tsk, you forgot to imagine where you wanted to go first,” the deep voice chided lightly.

“I gathered,” Jack grumbled.

 _Okay.  You_ can _do this, Jack._

_Breathe in.  Breathe out._

_In.  Out._

_I want to go…_

_There!_

Jack’s form dispersed into a cloud of snowflakes, shifted several feet, and then coalesced when he’d intended.

“Yes!” Jack cheered.

A satisfied hum echoes throughout the field.

“I see my faith was well founded, frostling.  You _are_ ready, more so than we could have ever dreamed.”

“What are you talking about?” Jack replied warily.

Old Man Winter was silent for several moments, the only hint of his presence being the light, chilly breeze that drifted around the clearing.

Instead of answering Jack’s question, the voice on the wind simply instructed, “Practice, frostling.  You will need this skill sooner than either of us might like.”

The breeze drifted away and was gone.

 _Humph, he could have at least explained his cryptic comments_ , Jack mused, annoyed.  _Oh well, I guess I should practice this if I want to be able to use it_.

Over the next half-hour, Jack worked out exactly how to perform the teleportation trick, but he could only manage to move, at most, ten to twelve feet when he really pushed himself – he seemed unable to hold the dispersed form for long enough to travel much further.

“I’ll get there in time,” the sprite muttered out loud, determined to eventually be able to travel longer distances this way.

Deciding to push his limits, Jack concentrated really hard, focused tightly, and then flung himself as far as he could manage.

_Whoa!_

Jack coalesced into existence in a place he didn’t immediately recognize.  He was high in the mountains somewhere.  Snow was on the ground.  As he turned slowly to survey the terrain, he noticed a coastline in the distance and a large island just off the shore.  There were a couple bridges his sharp eyes could just make out.  The sight seemed familiar.

Jack cocked his head.  “If I’m not mistaken, I’m in Wales.  But, _why?_ ”

“Jack Frost.  Just the spirit I’ve been expecting,” a lightly accented female voice spoke behind him.  “Croeso i fy gartref ostyngedig. Ddod i mewn os gwelwch yn dda.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That last line is Welsh:  
> Croeso i fy gartref ostyngedig. Peidiwch ddod i mewn.  
> Welcome to my humble abode. Do come in.
> 
> ~`~`~`~`~
> 
> Oh no! Who could it be?  
> Also, when will Jack stop surprising me with new naughty tricks? XD


	14. Messages

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to acknowledge Pererin's assistance in correcting my usage of Welsh last chapter. Hopefully, I got it correct this time around!
> 
> Yes, the chapter is a smidge short, but I couldn't bring myself to add anymore to these scenes without wandering off excessively. There will be plenty to make up for this in the next couple of chapters!
> 
> Also, I believe I've worked out that this fic will be either 17 or 18 chapters, depending on how long certain upcoming scenes end up being.

Aster had had several errands to run that he’d been putting off since Jack had come to stay with him –

 _Has it only been a month?_ the Pooka mused.  _So much has changed…._

Thinking back over the last year, however, he really could see what Jack had been talking about the other day: how they had gravitated towards each other for the past 46 years and how, since Jack had become a Guardian, they had grown closer and closer, until that one fateful incident in his nest.  So much had changed, yet, at the same time, it all remained the same.  They just had – _more_ , together, than before.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Aster focused on the task at hand, which, at the moment, was climbing a sheer cliff in a remote southwestern United States desert.  There was a rare flower he’d heard about that only grew in the craggy outcroppings that dotted this particular stretch of the Rockies.  The color was supposed to be quite unusual and Aster wanted to acquire sufficient samples to add it to his garden.

Free solo climbing was something of a specialty of his, given that most of the equipment humans made for this task were woefully ill-designed for his body shape.  It was still bloody difficult.  At least he couldn’t be outright killed by a fall; he had too many believers for that to happen.

Oh, but would it _hurt_.

Finally surmounting yet another outcropping and finding his goal, Aster carefully perched on the tiny ledge and took out a small sample collection kit.  Several minutes later, he had a perfectly preserved sample, ready for transport.  Stowing it in the small pack of supplies, he tapped his foot lightly against the wall next to him and opened a rabbit hole back to the ground.

Once safely back on the ground, he pulled out his list and ticked off the third flower retrieval.  This would be enough samples to breed in his garden for now.  He would need a few more wild plants eventually, for genetic variety, but this would be a good start.  The last errand of the day completed, he opened another rabbit hole and hopped in, intending to visit little Sophie.

The trip from the southwestern United States to Burgess, Pennsylvania was quite uneventful, like usual, but it did take a bit of time, since he had to route around a fair number of underground shale oil deposits in the western half of the continent.

He arrived in Burgess in the early afternoon.  Since it was the weekend, he expected to find the children either at home or close by in one of the park areas they liked to play in.  He decided to check the house first, as he found the back door unlocked.

 _Makes sense_ , he mused.  _The little ankle-biters would be running in and out all day._

Stepping inside, he quickly discovered that Jamie’s and Sophie’s parents were not home.  A note on the fridge advised that they would be home a bit late and that leftover spaghetti was in the fridge for Jamie to warm up for their dinner.

Aster thought it was odd to leave children Jamie’s age in charge, but then he noticed a second note reminding Jamie that the neighbor would be checking in periodically.  Poking his head back out the door, Aster grunted when he saw that the aforementioned neighbor was asleep on the rocking chair on his back porch.

_Right bloody irresponsible, that is._

“Sophie?” he called into the house.  “Jamie?”

Silence greeted him.  Just as he turned to leave, thinking that they must be outside, his ear twitched.  He could faintly make out the sounds of _My Little Pony_ coming from upstairs.

_She mustn’t have heard me over the telly._

Taking the stairs, Aster wandered down the hall to Sophie’s room, noting in passing that both kids’ doors were ajar.  Stepping into the room, Aster immediately halted, the fur on the back of his neck stiffening as a chill ran down his spine.  The room was a complete mess, not necessarily unexpected for the little ankle-biter, but this went beyond messy child.  And there was a thin layer of melting rime on the windowsill and across the top of the telly.

He’d have guessed Jack had been here, but _that wasn’t Jack’s scent_.

Aster dashed down the hall to Jamie’s room.  Just as messy.  Rime on the windows.  Was that…?

_Blood on the headboard._

And, stuck to the blood smear, a note.

Aster grabbed it and read it quickly.

_Jack Frost,_

_I have your First Believers.  You have until the Solstice to find me and commit to a duel or they will die._

_General Winter_

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Jack turned around at the voice and was immediately struck by the subtle beauty of the woman standing before him.  She wore her long, oddly-colored hair in a Dutch braid.  The hair was nearly black at its roots, but the color shifted to a moderately light auburn as it passed her shoulders.  There were hints of grey throughout.

Most striking, however, were her bright amber eyes, which reminded Jack of a wolf for some reason.  Perhaps it was her fine facial structure, coupled with the slightly longer than usual nose, which complimented her slim, long face, and high cheekbones.  The woman wore simple, dark brown robes of an indeterminate fabric, the cuffs and neck of which appeared to be adorned with wolf fur.  She wore a fine, golden circlet with a dark ruby in the center of her forehead, but no other jewelry.

Jack couldn’t put his finger on it, but she seemed vaguely familiar.

“Maddau yr ymwthiad, fy arglwyddes,” Jack replied with a small bow.

The woman let out a short, delighted laugh.  “You speak Welsh?  How lovely.  And such nice manners!  Please, do come in.  We have much to discuss.”

Jack cautiously followed the woman inside the small cottage, as he asked, “Do you know how I got here?”

“Ydw.  I noticed you trying out Old Man Winter’s little traveling trick and, for want of a better word, ‘tugged’ on you when you last dispersed.  It brought you here,” she explained as she sat.  “Please, sit.”

The armchair where she was sitting was situated strategically between the fireplace and a moderately large table.  Oddly out of place, the large, comfy-looking chair, while upholstered and styled to resembled something several centuries old, boasted a modern swivel cunningly hidden within the base, which allowed her to turn fully to the table or fully towards the fire, as need warranted.

Atop the mantle to her left, Jack could see many figurines, most of them of wolves, crafted in various mediums – stone, porcelain, bone, and several others he didn’t recognize – as well as a large mirror centered above the fireplace.  Upon the table on her right were various accoutrements of divination – crystal balls, tarot cards, and a variety of implements Jack did not want to ponder the function of just yet.

The room itself was warmly and cozily furnished with a plethora of rugs and tapestries, including a large bear pelt in front of the fireplace.  There were several other miscellaneous pieces of furniture scattered about the sitting room, along with one additional, similarly styled, chair directly across from her.

It was then that Jack noticed the _really_ large, dark-furred wolf lying just behind her chair.  It was watching him with one bright amber eye, but otherwise didn’t acknowledge his presence.  Deciding discretion was best, Jack politely ignored the wolf, as it seemed to be doing with him.

“Pardon my imprudence, fy arglwyddes, but you obviously know who I am and went to great lengths to bring me here.  However, I know not who you are.  Would you be so kind as to favor me with your name?” Jack inquired politely as he took the chair across from her.

 _Oooh, it_ is _as comfy as it looks._

She smiled.  “Of course.  My name is Eirlys.  We two are of a kind, you and I, Jack Frost.  Do you know how rare it is for a spirit to have died in their mortal life before being raised as a spirit?”

“When I told Bunny about it, he seemed rather surprised.”

“And for good reason.  Only a small handful of mortals have had to die before earning their spirithood.  I am like you in this regard.  I was once a powerful druid.  In particular, I was the last druid to die in the Roman purge of the druidic sanctuaries on the Isle of Anglesey.”

Jack quickly reviewed his knowledge of British Roman history in his head before gasping.

“That was almost two thousand years ago!  Suetonius’ purge occurred right before Boudicca’s revolt in 60 AD.  Have you lived here all this time?”

“Not always, but, essentially, yes.  I made my home here in Snowdonia a long, long time ago, but I have spent nearly half my life since becoming a spirit traveling the world, learning its secrets.  However, I’ve always been partial to the colder climes of my native country.  But this is not why I brought you here.  I have several things to show you.  Here, you see, upon my table, these cards, no?”

“They look like tarot cards.”

“Ah, yes.  At first glance, I can see how you’d make that mistake.  But look!” she replied as she quickly shuffled the deck and then flipped one card over.

Jack gasped.  The image on the card was _himself_.  It was labeled across the bottom _Frostling._

“How?” the sprite spluttered.

“Magic, of course, young one, magic.  I crafted these cards in the style of tarot, but enchanted them to provide a clearer, more personalized message when dealt.  I do so dislike cryptic messages and prophecies.  I much prefer the divination to actually _say_ what it means, not play, what is it you call it…charades?”

Jack nodded, still a little dumbfounded.  “So, you brought me here for a divination?”

“Partly, yes.  There are things you need to know, frostling, things that are swiftly coming to conclusion.  I know Old Man Winter disagrees with me on this point, but I beg to differ.  Here, let us see what fate has in store for you in the near future first, and then we can discuss other matters.  Like what _frostling_ means.”

Jack nodded eagerly for her to go ahead.

 _Finally,_ he thought.  _Someone willing to explain things to me!_

She flipped another card.  Jack did not immediately recognize the grimly severe man of middling height, weight, and complexion.  The card was labeled _The General_.  Eirlys frowned deeply at the card.

“Is that General Winter?” Jack asked.

“Yes.  Given the Snow Queen’s pronouncement and your hiding out in the Warren, this is most troubling.”

“Can’t he get to me here?”

“He could.  That is, _if_ he could find you here, which he cannot.  He has never been welcome in my home.  Or within several hundred miles of it,” she replied.

“You can do that?  How strong are you?” Jack exclaimed.

“Strong enough, frostling.  But that is not the thing that should concern you at the moment.  This worries me.  There is much that I want to tell you, but this takes precedence.  If he _is_ involved in your near future, I daresay that means he has contrived a way to force you to seek him out.  A moment please.”

She then swiftly dealt herself a hand of several cards and examined them closely without revealing them to Jack.  The temperature in the room suddenly dropped several tens of degrees.

“Jack.  I seem to have chosen the wrong time to summon you.  You must return to the Warren _now_.  Your mate is looking for you.  The General has broken the Accords.  He has involved mortals in the affairs of spirits,” Eirlys informed Jack, the worry and anger evident in her voice.  “He will pay dearly for this.”

“What?  How?”

She turned one of the cards in her hand around.

It bore the label _The Last Light._

It was Jamie.

Jack’s heart just about stopped.

“Go!  Now!  We can speak again when this issue is resolved.  I shall push you back to the Warren when you disperse.  Find your mate and gather your allies.  You can find your foe in northern Siberia on the Taymyr Peninsula, in the eastern Byrranga Mountains.  Nicholas St. North will know where to look.  Hurry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welsh (as best I can translate with what I have available):  
> Maddau yr ymwthiad, fy arglwyddes.  
> Pardon the intrusion, my lady.
> 
> Ydw.  
> Yes.
> 
> History Time!  
> [Gaius Suetonius Paulinus](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Suetonius_Paulinus), Roman Governor of Britain (58 - 62 AD).  
> [Boudicca](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudicca), Queen of the Iceni tribe (d. 60 or 61).


	15. Have Fun Storming the Castle!

Jack sat in the chair in shock for all of half a minute, Eirlys gazing at him worriedly.  He then calmly stood up, thanked her for her time, and stepped outside, moving to stand a couple yards from the cottage.  He took a deep breath.

And screamed.

His eyes burst into icy flames that immediately began leaving trails in the air as he moved.  His staff just as immediately began smoking like dry ice once more.  A pulse of frigid air frosted over the landscape for several hundred yards.  Clouds gathered and it began to snow.

Jack glanced over his shoulder and met Eirlys’ gaze.

“Thank you.  I’ll come visit when this is over.  _And it will be over_ ,” he growled.

With a thought, Jack dispersed.  Eirlys pushed.  Jack was flung back to the Warren and materialized in front of the burrow.  Aster was just exiting their home, apparently in a panic.  He froze at the sight Jack presented before him.

“Jack!” Bunny exclaimed.  “Are you okay, mate?”

“He took Jamie,” Jack growled, ignoring the question.

“Not just Jamie.  He has all your First Believers.  He left a note,” Aster replied, gesturing with the hand that held the blood-stained note.  “He demands that you find him and duel him by the Solstice or the ankle-biters will be executed.”

Jack’s right eye twitched spasmodically.

_Blood-stained_.

_Executed._

“I know where to find him.  We go to the Workshop.  _Now_.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

They made swift time to North’s Workshop.  The Yetis and elves all but dove out of their way when they saw Jack storm in.  The weather outside quickly began to drift towards blizzard conditions.  Aster was freezing where he stood near Jack, teeth chattering.

Without even glancing at him, Jack simply waved his hand commandingly in the Pooka’s direction.

Aster stopped experiencing the cold.

With Jack several feet away.

“Bunny.  Go.  I – I can’t focus enough to talk much.  Explain.  Call others.  I’ll be outside,” Jack growled, before turning and drifting out into the gathering storm.

Aster simply nodded in understanding and ran further inside.

“Phil!  Call the others!  It’s an emergency!  North!  North!  Where are you, you drongo?”

“What is with yelling, Bunny?  I am sure Frige can hear you in Iron Works,” North replied as he stepped out of a side room he used for storing extra tools.

“General Winter has kidnapped Jack’s believers and is threatening to kill them if we don’t get Jack to his lair soon.”

“What!  But we don’t know where he is!”

“Jack does.  Something about the eastern Byrranga Mountains.”

“Я знаю это место.  There are only few good places for lair there.  Is good.  Это будет нелегко.  Where is Jack?”

“Outside.  He’s…very angry.  I suspect he didn’t want the cold he’s radiating to damage anything in the Workshop.  The storm outside appears to be a side-effect,” Aster explained.

Tooth zipped in just then.

“What’s going on?”

“General Winter has kidnapped Jack’s believers, but we know about where he’s hiding.”

Tooth gasped and looked faint.

Sandy arrived several minutes later.  When the situation was explained to him, he looked just about as outraged as Jack.  Bunny took this to be a good sign.

“I do not think General will be expecting us so soon,” North observed as the four Guardians climbed into the sleigh.  The others nodded in agreement.

Even so, Aster was not looking forward to another sleigh ride.

Jack joined them as they shot off the ramp and climbed into the sky, flying in formation just above and to the side of the sleigh, easily keeping pace.  Then North created a portal and they were off.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

It took them several hours to comb the mountain range, looking for the General’s lair.  North explained that, back in his bandit days, there had been several bandit encampments up in the mountains that he’d been aware of, but never been to personally.  The information he did have, however, indicated that the former encampment locations would be ideal sites for General Winter to set up shop, since the ground had already been cleared centuries ago and the terrain roughly leveled.  In fact, they were probably the only usable locations in the whole range.

They were pretty sure they were getting close when they encountered snowgre ‘artillery.’

“I’ll deal with this.  North, go find a landing zone,” Jack snarled, anger adding a sharp bite to his words and the glow in his eyes flaring.

The sprite then peeled off from his close formation with the sleigh and dove sharply downward in a tight spiral, firing a near-constant stream of razor-sharp ice shards.  He made short work of the snowgres who had been actively throwing boulders and large rocks at the sleigh.  Several tried to run.

_Heh_.

Jack twisted into an abrupt climb and shot up several hundred feet in the air in the blink of an eye, before performing a hawk-like dive straight at the runners.  One of them snagged a nearby rock and tossed it at Jack when he got close, too quickly for Jack to dodge.

So he didn’t.

Jack dispersed into a cloud of snowflakes as the small boulder flew through where he’d been and the rematerialized immediately afterwards and turned his momentum into a spinning swing.  He also extended a large, razor-sharp blade of ice out of the crook of his staff, which now more closely resembled a giant scythe.

The snowgre had enough time to scream in horror before it was no longer capable of that.  Or much else, considering his head was sailing through the air in pursuit of the other fleeing snowgres and his body was tumbling down the mountainside.

Jack then teleported ahead of the other snowgres in a cloud of snowflakes.  As he passed through the group, he materialized his hand and scythe-staff and separated one snowgre from his _legs_ ; that snowgre fell down the mountainside screaming until a sickening crunch followed after a drop of several hundred feet.  Jack then appeared in front of the remaining two in a sliding three-point landing – a trick that was rapidly becoming a trademark move – with his staff held wide in his left hand.  He swiftly sprung forwards swinging.

The remaining snowgres were swiftly disarmed.  _Literally_.

Jack knocked the screaming beasts off the mountain with a heavy blast of Wind, which threw them far enough that they wouldn’t have to bounce down the mountainside – instead, they would fall for about a _mile_ into a large crevasse.  Their frightened screams echoed throughout the mountain range.  Jack couldn’t bring himself to _care_.

_His believers needed him._

Jack allowed the ice-blade to dissipate for now and leapt into the air as if he’d been shot from a cannon.  The ground cracked slightly under his feet as he launched himself and took off in pursuit of the sleigh.  He quickly spotted the sleigh as it was landing on a rocky outcropping that was just on the other side of a large stone protrusion that hid the landing site from the General’s lair.

The sight would have been impressive to Jack if he’d been in his right mind.

General Winter had raised a huge castle of ice.  It was constructed in the style of a late-period star fort, the kind built to take into account the advent of gunpowder-based weaponry.  From the air, Jack could see the main fortification was laid out in a five-pointed star on the huge cliff top mesa that he was absolutely positive General Winter had expanded from its original size – one only had to look down the sheer cliff face to see all the blasted rock and debris from the powerful spirit literally carving into the mountain.

There also appeared to be a partial, three-pointed forward fortification facing the landing site where the sleigh had touched down.  Considering the overall design, Jack had the fleeting thought that its layout vaguely resembled Fort Bourtange in the Netherlands.

Jack would have considered an immediate aerial blitz straight for the huge donjon that took up most of the space inside the inner pentagonal walls if not for the massive number of ballista-like engines mounted atop the walls and bastions.  The weapons were already tracking his movements under the direction of paired teams of snowgres – Jack supposed that he hadn’t been attack yet solely because he was out of range.

Given the design of the inner courtyards and the donjon, and the heavily armed walls, Jack surmised that the only way into the central courtyard appeared to be through the main fortifications.

A dark smirk graced Jack’s features as he landed next to Bunny and turned to address the assembled Guardians.

“I see no signs of any inner buildings beside the huge keep in the center of the inner walls.  The walls themselves are too heavily defended against an aerial assault, so a direct flight to the keep is right out,” he explained.

North grinned as he asked, “Frontal assault?”

Jack’s smirk grew deadly as he nodded.

“Frontal assault,” Jack agreed as he turned to address Bunny.  “Do you think you could open a rabbit hole right in front of the main doors of the forward wall?”

“Abso-bloody-lutely, mate.”

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Six snowgres and two Wendigos stood guard at the front gate.  A hole opened in the ground several feet in front of them.  Two of the snowgres went to investigate.  Two golden ropes of dream sand flashed out of the hole, grabbed the snowgres by the necks, and flung them over the walls.  Then the Guardians burst from the hole.

Jack, Tooth, and Sandy flew straight up and spread out quickly, followed by North, who jumped out and charged the nearest Wendigo.  Aster followed immediately after, launching his boomerangs at the snowgres as the rabbit hole closed.  Tooth immediately engaged the second Wendigo.  Sandy kept a couple more snowgres occupied.

Jack took careful aim at the gates.  The moisture in the air rapidly condensed into a huge spear of ice which he then launched with a blast of hurricane-force winds straight at the heavy doors, which shattered into millions of pieces upon impact.  The gatehouse shuddered and cracked.  Alarmed shouts sprang up throughout the forward defensive wall.  Jack could see various Winter spirits running around the top of the embattled walls.

He also noticed one of the ballistae had been moved to fire over the side of the tower to the west.

“Incoming!” Jack shouted.

The Guardians scattered just in time to avoid being struck by the large ice bolt.  Bunny jumped over the snowgre he was fighting and kicked its back, sending it flying forward into the path of the bolt, which promptly skewered it and pinned its body to the stone surface of the mesa.  Cracks radiated outward from the point of impact.  The gatehouse shuddered again as the cracks Jack had caused grew.

“Get back!” Jack shouted at the other Guardians.

Sensing an opportunity as more spirits came rushing out of the gatehouse, Jack formed another large spear and aimed for the crack, which had now started running down the eastern side of the gatehouse proper.  Blasting the spear into the crack, Jack forced it to spread to the foundation.  A second spear aimed at the opposite side was the gatehouse’s undoing.

It collapsed onto a large cluster of snowgres and icelings.  A couple of Wendigo managed to dodge out the front gate of the collapsing structure, but quickly fell to North’s and Tooth’s flashing swords.  Bunny downed the last remaining snowgre outside the walls shortly afterward.

“Quickly!  Rush the barbican of the enceinte while they regroup!” Jack directed.  “Bunny, Sandy!  Guard the rear while I bash through the gate!”

There was a wide stretch of open ground to cover to the enceinte barbican.  The outer courtyard quickly began filling with Winter spirits that were pouring out of the outer towers of the forward defensive wall.  The distance made them easy pickings for Sandy’s whips and Bunny’s boomerangs.

The other three Guardians came up short, however, at the sight of the barbican’s guardians.

“Not fair!” Jack groused loudly.  “Where the fuck did he find _Megatheria_?”

On second glance, however, Jack noticed a few differences from the extinct megafauna species _Megatherium_.  The creatures bore the outward appearance of the giant ground sloth and were of the correct size – twenty foot length, likely at least three or four tons in weight – but the coloring was all wrong.  The creatures’ fur was a deep blue, and the flesh that was visible was a dark cyan.  Most disturbing were the eyes – huge white orbs that had no pupils.  Tendrils of cold, frozen air trailed from their mouths as they moved.

And then the creatures roared.

_Or,_ Jack thought as he teleported out of the way, _not roared.  Breath weapons._ Great _._

“Fuck you very much, General Winter!” Jack shouted.  “North!  Take the one on the left!  Tooth!  Right!  I’ll work on both of them from afar!”

The other two Guardians moved as directed, harassing and distracting the huge beasts from Jack’s movements.  Jack shook his head as North deftly dodged a swing of the _Megatherium_ spirit’s huge claws.  North continually surprised Jack with how spry the man was, despite his apparent bulk.  Tooth, meanwhile, was easily dodging and weaving through the air, landing minor strikes all over the creatures face.  It howled in pain as she managed to stab it right in the eye.

Jack started off with a spray of his standard frost attack, testing the _Megatheria_ spirits’ defenses.  The frost coated their fur, but was quickly shrugged off.

_Okay then_.

Jack upgraded to a flurry of ice shards, targeting the face of the spirit North was fighting.  In its distraction, it was unable to deflect the attack and took it full on in the nose.  It howled in pain, paws flailing to combat the stinging shards.  Jack noted that the damage wasn’t terribly severe, but the attack had worked.

_Well then,_ Jack mused as he dodged an attack from a stray iceling that had managed to get past the others.  _I’m going to have to try something a bit more…personal._

Firing an offhand ice spear at the iceling – which easily shattered under the force of the blow – Jack shot forward towards the beast facing off against North, extending once more the large blade of ice from the crook of his staff.  With a loud shout and a hard spin, Jack swung his ice-scythe at the _Megatherium’s_ arm that the creature was swinging in a heavy strike at the older Guardian.

The creature’s attack never connected.

The _Megatherium_ howled in agony as its forearm from the elbow went flying off to the side.  It stumbled and tripped its partner with its heavy tail.  North and Tooth pounced on the fallen beast and, a dozen thrusting strikes to the head later, the creature lay still.

As the other two finished off the fallen monster, Jack deflected a claw attack from the injured, and now enraged, spirit creature.  Although he prevented any damage to himself, he was sent skidding through the air several yards.  He took advantage of this distance to immediately charge back towards the beast, the Wind accelerating his attack with near-hurricane force winds, and flipped into a forward spin, scythe-staff held aloft.  His attacked landed hard, and the remaining _Megatherium_ fell to the ground, its head split neatly in two.

Jack landed heavily and skidded to a stop, panting heavily, as the other four Guardians rushed to his side.

“Frostbite!  That was bloody amazing!  Are you okay, mate?”

“Yeah,” Jack panted.  “Just give me a moment to catch my breath, and then we can break down this damn gate.”

Sandy got Jack’s attention.  His images translated to _let me handle this._

“By all means,” Jack replied.

Sandy flung out his sand whips and grabbed the nearest _Megatherium_ corpse.  Spinning it in a circle several times, not unlike a discus thrower, Sandy pitched the four ton corpse at the heavy gates, which cracked and groaned at the impact.  The second corpse shattered the gates entirely.

Jack grinned and clapped several times at the display.  Sandy bowed cheekily.

“Onward then!  You four deal with any remaining forces outside the donjon, I’m heading in.  Catch up when the coast is clear out here!”

The Guardians charged off to engage the rapidly approaching Winter spirits while Jack teleported forward in several quick jumps, taking off a random arm, leg, or even the occasional head as he approached the entrance to the central keep.  The door was no match for the heavy ice spear he launched at it, shattering upon impact like all the others.  Jack shot inside.

The inside of the keep resembled a huge ice cavern, with stalactites, stalagmites, and columns of ice scattered haphazardly about the enormous chamber's rough and uneven floor.  In the center of the cavern there was a huge crevasse, above which hung precariously from the ceiling a cage of ice.

Jack’s believers were inside the cage.

“Jack!” Jamie shouted.  “Look out!”

Jack dodged neatly to the side.  Which was a good thing, because an icy blue-white _Smilodon_ spirit landed right where he had been and would have savaged him badly.  As it was, Jack did take a partial swipe to the leg before he lopped the cat spirit’s head clean off with his scythe.

A slow clap started up from the direction of the crevasse.  Jack turned to see a lone figure standing several yards in front of the giant hole in the ground.

“General Winter,” Jack growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Russian:  
> Я знаю это место.  
> I know this place.
> 
> Это будет нелегко.  
> This will be easy.
> 
> History Time!  
> [Star Forts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_fort) on Wikipedia.  
> [Fort Bourtange](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourtange_%28fort%29). It looks really awesome, doesn't it? XD  
> [Fortifications](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortification), for those curious about any castle terminology they might not be familiar with. There is a nice directory of terms at the bottom of the page.  
> [Megatherium](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megatherium), the giant ground sloth of the Pleistocene, one of the largest land mammals to have ever lived.  
> [Smilodon](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smilodon), the famous sabre-toothed cat of the Pleistocene. It had sharp, pointy teeth! XD


	16. General Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, here we are. The big boss fight. Yay!
> 
> Couple things:  
> General Winter is modeled on [this guy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Nikolayevich_Wrangel), outfit and all.  
> The [General's saber](http://www.tsarsarsenal.com/long_w/a3_drag_saber2/a3_drag_saber2.htm) is modeled on this design.

The General appeared much as he did in the card that Eirlys had shown Jack.  He was a man of middling height, weight, and complexion.  He wore a mostly black outfit in a style that Jack recognized from the late 19th century Russian Tsarist military: tight fitting body with lighter-colored epaulets, sans fringe, on the shoulders; the sleeves were a bit overlong and overlapped the backs of the General’s hands and were rather open and robe-like; and a high neck reminiscent of a turtle-neck shirt.  He even wore one of those silly hats that Jack remembered some of the Russian nobility wearing.  The man himself was otherwise unremarkable, although he did wear a neatly-trimmed goatee.

_My God,_ how _many bad guy clichés does this guy fit?_ Jack thought, amused despite himself.

“Jack Frost,” General Winter greeted with a slight bow.  “What an – unexpected visit.  I was sure you would be another day, at least.  However did you find me?”

“Eirlys informed me of your location,” Jack supplied, curious what the reaction would be.  Jack figured Eirlys must carry such a dislike for the General for a reason.

General Winter’s right eye twitched spasmodically as he snarled, “That _bitch_.  What is she doing, interfering in my open season on you?”

_Aaaaannnd, there’s another ‘bad guy’ cliché.  I don’t know if I can avoid laughing at him much longer, not after his ‘hordes of evil’ outside, or the ‘progressively stronger monsters’ bit with the Pleistocene spirits he pulled on me._

Jack noticed out of the corner of his eye just then that Bunny had crept into the room unnoticed and was carrying a snow globe.  The Pooka appeared to be eyeing the children’s cage, figuring out how to rescue them.

_Well, alright then.  Let’s see if I can get him to monologue_ , Jack thought with a mental laugh.

“Don’t look at me, General.  What I want to know right now is why you’re doing all this?  What threat could I have posed to you?  Why involve my believers at all, especially since doing so apparently violated something Eirlys called ‘the Accords?’”

The General eyed Jack contemplatively from across the chamber as Jack slowly hovered closer, keeping an eye out for any more surprises while he drew the other spirit’s attention away from Aster.

“You know not why I seek to kill you?  Hah!  That is a good joke!  When you took up the mantle of power your Guardianship grants, you were clearly bucking for my position in the Winter Court!  My attacks against you have simply been a standard matter between Winter spirits.  You were vying for my position!  What else would you have expected?  As for your believers, I grew tired of your hiding in that insufferable Pooka’s home.  Capturing them has obviously proven the perfect way to draw you out so that I can destroy you like the bug you are!”

_Oh my god,_ Jack thought, amazed.  _He’s_ really _doing the evil monologue!_

Unable to contain himself anymore, Jack burst out in laughter.  To add insult to injury, he was even pointing at the General while doing so.  When General Winter’s expression ran through confusion to insulted to enraged, Jack started giggling all over again.  Despite his outburst of hilarity, Jack noticed as Bunny fell out of a rabbit hole in the ceiling and landed on top of the cage.

“You – you insolent brat!  How _dare_ you laugh at me?  You should be cowering in fear at the mere thought of me!  You cannot possibly defeat me!”

Jack burst out in a new round of laughter.

“You – you – you –” Jack tried to reply, but he was too far gone to form a coherent sentence.

_He really said it!_

“We’ll see how _funny_ you think it is when I drop that cage into the pit!  If any of your precious believers survive the fall, they will certainly be eaten by the sabre-toothed cats waiting at the bottom!”

Jack was wheezing now, he was laughing so hard.  “Wait – wait!  You really have an _open pit_ , filled with _monsters_?  And you’ve hung your hostages in a cage above it and are threatening to drop them in if I don’t capitulate?”

_Oh this is too good!_

“That is what I said!” General Winter snarled.  “Fine!  If you cannot take my threat serious, I –”

The General stopped talking in shock when he turned around in time to see Bunny dropping the cage full of children to safety through a portal to the Workshop.

“You must be the world’s only living brain donor to have fallen for Jack’s tricks so easily, you ratbag!” Bunny jeered as he hopped away from the cage to land safely on the far side of the crevasse.  “You’re probably as handy in a fight as a one-legged man is useful in an ass-kicking contest!”

The General snarled wordlessly in rage –

_He does that a lot,_ Jack mused absently.

– before he shouted, “Attack them!  Kill them!”

Several dozen _Smilodon_ spirits appeared out of the darkened alcoves surrounding Jack and Bunny.

_Oh, those are caves.  Huh.  I didn’t notice – ack!_

Jack hastily dodged, swerved, and weaved about as he was attacked by no less than three of the creatures.  Bunny was similarly assaulted on the other side of the crevasse.  Despite being outnumbered, however, Jack managed to kill two of the creatures quickly, removing one’s head and cutting the other one in half.

The third one managed to claw him down his left leg, length-wise, and it hadn’t been for his deer-skin leather pants, he’d have been savaged rather badly.  Instead, he had a tattered pant leg and thin, if still painful, scratches down the length of his leg, mid-thigh to mid-calf.

“Ow ow ow!” Jack whined as he frosted over the wound with one hand while fending of the prehistoric feline with his staff-scythe in the other.

_Focus, Jack, focus!  The kids are safe now!  Focus on defeating the bastard and his minions!_

Returning to a two-handed grip on his staff, Jack, with a push from the wind, spun into a top-like spiral and flung himself at the _Smilodon_ that was leaping at him.

It missed.

He didn’t.

That threat dealt with, Jack spun around in the air and landed against a column of ice, suspended horizontally in the air briefly before launching himself straight at the General.  Turning his momentum into a forward-spin, he carved a path directly through the beasts that tried to get in his way.

General Winter formed a dragoon’s sabre out of ice just as Jack swung his scythe blade in for a strike.  He deflected Jack’s attack; Jack spun off to the side, dodging the return swipe and sent a spray of ice shards at the other spirit.  The General deflected all but one shard in an impressive display of swordsmanship.  The shard that got through clipped his left cheek and caused a slight trickle of blue-black blood drip down his face.  General Winter touched the wound lightly and looked at the blood on his fingers, before grinning darkly and launching himself into the air.

_Oh shit…!_

Jack and the General traded several dozen blows and counter moves before the General managed to get past Jack’s defenses with a solid kick to the midsection.  Jack flew backwards and struck a stalagmite, shattering it completely and continuing on to strike a column, which proved to be more solid.  Jack gasped in pain as his breath was momentarily forced from him.

“Jack!” Bunny shouted as he fended off the small horde of giant cats.

“Don’t…worry…about…me!” Jack panted as he regained his breath in time to dodge a strike from the General.

The column behind him split in half from the strike; Jack narrowly dodged the falling ice pillar.  Regaining his feet, he launched himself into the air and traded another series of blows with the General, who again managed the first strike on the sprite, this time with an open-palm strike to the solar plexus.  Jack flew backwards once more, shattering several stalactites on his way towards the ceiling before he caught himself with the crook of his staff, having dismissed the scythe blade for the moment, on a tall, thick stalagmite and spun his momentum into a flying shot towards the General.

Jack managed to bash the General in the face in passing, but took a glancing cut to his right leg.  Hissing at the sting, Jack spun and bounced off another column, reforming the scythe blade as he flew.  He and the General traded blows again and again, narrowly missing each other several times, before General Winter managed a solid right hook that was quickly followed by a pommel strike with the sword in his left hand.  Jack fell to the cavern floor with a loud crash, dazed.

“Jack!  Get off me, you bloody overgrown kitten!” Bunny shouted as he fought a particularly determined sabre-toothed cat.

Jack came to his senses just as General Winter landed atop him and grabbed him by the throat with his surprisingly strong hand.  The General stood and held Jack aloft, choking the sprite.  Bunny shouted in vain.  Jack felt dizzy.

“Ha!  See?  I told you that you cannot beat me!” the General taunted.

“I – know – some – thing – you don’t,” Jack managed to gasp out.

The General chuckled darkly.  “Pray tell, what is that?”

Jack coughed weakly before smirking and dispersing into a cloud of snowflakes.

“What!  When did you learn –”

Jack materialized directly behind the General as he formed an ice spike on the butt of his staff, before stabbing the General clean through where his left kidney would be were he mortal.

“Aaarrgghh!  You _dare –_ ” General Winter snarled a moment later before backhanding Jack hard, sending the sprite flying backwards to skid through the straws of ice hanging from the ceiling towards a decently sized stalactite.  Reacting at the last second, Jack dispersed such that his body went through the hanging pillar of ice unharmed and then quickly reformed, catching the stalactite with his staff and spinning his momentum back into another charge at the General.

“You think to attack me with the same move twice?” his opponent taunted.

Jack smirked as the General swung his ice sabre at him, teleporting past the swing and rematerializing just behind the other spirit.  Jack spun in a wide arc, forming a new scythe blade as he did so.  He scored a deep gash across the General’s back.

General Winter shouted in pain as he dove downwards and away from Jack’s follow up swing, dodging the second blow cleanly, but the damage had been done – he was leaking copious amounts of his blue-black blood down his back to drip on the floor below.

Not giving his foe a chance to recover, Jack fired several medium-sized ice spears in quick succession before charging forward once more.  The General managed to deflect most of the spears, but took one through his right leg and another through the gut.  Jack once again turned his momentum into a forward spin.  The General dodged, but too late.

The General’s sabre went clattering to the floor below where he hovered in the air, shattering after several bounces.

His left arm followed suit, rolling over the edge of the crevasse into the waiting maws of the _Smilodons_ down below.  Several of them fought over their prize.

“Aaaarrrggghhh!” General Winter bellowed in pain, his right hand moving to cover the stump that used to be his left shoulder, in a vain attempt to staunch the bleeding.  “You will pay for that!”

Jack rolled his eyes as he threw a blast of Wind at the General, knocking his foe to the ground next to the crevasse.  Jack landed a couple feet away as the General stood on shaky legs.  He removed his right hand from his left shoulder-stump and formed a new sabre.

Jack charged.  Their blades clashed.  General Winter’s sabre shattered.

He stepped backwards to dodge the blow – and fell screaming into the crevasse.

“Nooooo!”

The scream was followed by a sickening thud and then the sound of celebratory _Smilodons_ as they attacked the General’s savaged body.  General Winter let out one more pitiful scream before he was abruptly silenced by a snarling sabre-toothed cat.

Jack dove down to help Bunny clear away the last of the large felines the Pooka had been fighting as the other Guardians rushed in.  They made short work of their remaining foes.

“You look like something the cat dragged in,” Jack remarked to Bunny with a weak grin.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny, smart arse.”

“Jack!  You’re bleeding all over the floor!  We need to get you back to the Workshop now!  Bunny too!”  Tooth exclaimed.

“Don’t mind us.  We just fought off several dozen lawnmowers is all,” Jack snarked weakly.

The ground shuddered violently.  Several ice columns cracked and collapsed.  The ground shuddered again.

“Oh, _come on!_   How many clichés does this guy _do_?  Now we have to escape the collapsing lair after he’s dead!  Damn it!” Jack bemoaned as he moved to take a step forward.

He fell over instead, but Bunny caught him and picked him up, cradling the sprite to his chest.

“But, Aster, you’re hurt too,” Jack protested weakly, his injuries finally catching up with him.

“Not as bad as you, you larrikin.  Now shut your gob while we get out of here.”

The four ambulatory Guardians rushed out of the cavernous keep as it began to collapse in earnest.  North pulled a snow globe from his pocket and cast it on the ground just outside the donjon’s entrance, taking them directly to the sleigh.  Piling in quickly, they took off at speed, circling around the mountain fortress in a wide arc as they gained altitude.  They watched as the whole mesa collapsed into the ravine below until there was nothing left but rubble indistinguishable from a massive land slide.

North pulled out his last snow globe and tossed it forward of the sleigh, taking the Guardians back to the Workshop and into the waiting arms of Frige and the Yeti medics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was certainly fun to write! One more chapter to go, and _Snow Storm_ will be at an end! Do not fear, I have a sequel planned and it will be following up the end of this fic with my customary posting speed (although I might take a day or two off, depends on whether the muse will let me relax or not!).


	17. A Party of Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And, because I like you guys so much, I stayed up 'til after 2 AM PST this morning to finish the last chapter!
> 
> Yes, this is the last chapter of _Snow Storm_. I'd like to thank all of you for reading and I hope you all follow this story in the future when I start posting the sequel soon.
> 
> Without further ado -

Jack relaxed into Bunnymund’s fluffy chest fur contentedly as they lay sprawled on North’s couch.  It had been a rather intense couple of days, what with all the time he had spent being poked, prodded, medicated, bandaged, un-bandaged, re-medicated, and so on until he was physically healed from the raid on General Winter’s castle and, in particular, his duel with the former Winter spirit.  He was still physically and magically exhausted though, and Frige and Bunny were unsure as to why.  Jack dismissed the slightly gloomy thoughts and focused on watching everyone else.

It was December 21st, his birthday, and the other Guardians had still organized a party for him, despite recent events.  He was quite touched, not to mention overjoyed, at their enthusiastic efforts.  The sitting room where they’d last gathered several weeks prior had been redecorated in a mix of birthday and Christmas decorations – not that he minded the latter – and he and Bunny had been ordered to stay on the couch while the others took care of everything.

Frige was currently down in the kitchen preparing dinner.  North was off in his personal workshop doing God-knows-what, while Tooth, Baby Tooth, and several other mini-fairies were zipping around the room, making sure everything was just so, adjusting a decoration here and shifting a candle over just a bit there.

Jack hummed happily, if tiredly.  Bunny hugged him lightly in response with his arms that were wrapped gently around Jack’s midsection and then chinned the top of the sprite’s head just as gently.

“Still tired, Snowflake?” Aster whispered in his ear.

“Yeah.  I don’t know why, seeing as how I’m fully healed; I shouldn’t be this worn out all the time!” Jack half-muttered, half-whined softly.

“You probably just overworked your magic in the duel, mate.  I remember, after the battle with Pitch, I was mostly exhausted for a couple days afterwards.  Although that might have had something to do with the suddenly shifting belief in me over the course of the day.”

Jack shuddered faintly.  Aster frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

Jack titled his head back and to the side slightly, glancing up at Aster through his fringe.  He was blushing a faint shade of lavender.  Frost crept over the tips of his ears.

“I – I just noticed how much your _voice_ turns me on sometimes; it doesn’t matter what you're saying.  Just the way your accent rolls off your tongue is so…mmm…” Jack replied, his blush darkening in embarrassment.

Aster grinned lasciviously and nuzzled Jack’s head.

“Mine,” the Pooka said simply, possessively.

Jack grinned in reply, stating simply in return, “Yours,” before stretching up and kissing Bunny tenderly.

A couple of fairies fainted at their interplay.  They both rolled their eyes as Tooth and Baby Tooth both cooed.

“You two are just so _adorable_ together!” she exclaimed, before bustling off to revive the mini-fairies who’d fainted.

Aster grunted neutrally in response, while Jack simply snuggled closer contentedly.

An hour of snuggling later, Jack was lightly dozing when North boomed into the room, “Jack!  Is time!”

Jack started and would have fallen off the couch had Bunnymund not been prepared.  Bunny growled in annoyance at North.  The large man simply shrugged in response as he settled into his armchair.  Raven moseyed in just then, having been exploring the Workshop proper, and sent a friendly wave Jack’s way before moving over to sit with Tooth on the loveseat.  Phil was puttering around near the fireplace, ensuring it was warm enough in the room for the non-Winter spirits present.  Jack was just glad the fireplace was on the opposite side of the room from him – Bunny was all the warmth he needed.

Just as Jack got resettled on the couch comfortably, Frige paraded in, followed by a passel of elves carrying food – which included a birthday cake with _Happy Birthday Jack!_ printed on it in bright blue lettering atop white frosting.  A single lit candle stood in place of the dot on the ‘i’ in ‘birthday.’

As the rest of the room, save Jack and Bunny, broke out in a horribly off-key, but utterly heart-felt, rendition of _Happy Birthday_ , Aster leaned over to whisper in Jack’s ear.

“Happy Birthday, Snowflake.”

Jack nuzzled Bunny’s chin in reply, self-marking again.  Aster purred in response to the gesture.

After blowing out the candle and everyone, even Tooth, having a slice – although hers was very small – Jack was further surprised to be presented with presents.

“Guys, you really didn’t have to,” he protested weakly, even as he eyed the presents in his lap hungrily.

“Of course we did!  You work very hard in last month!” North answered jovially.

“Jack, we missed your last 300 birthdays.  This helps us work towards reconciling with our neglect, while simultaneously giving you happiness.  Please let us,” Tooth replied softly.

“If I _must_ ,” Jack replied half-sarcastically in jest, before grabbing the first present.

It was from North, wrapped in snowflake and Christmas tree paper.  Tearing into it with gusto, Jack found within a set of leather straps.  Holding it up to have a better look at it, he realized it was an adjustable holster for his staff.  Besides being easily adjustable to fit his slight frame, it could be adapted to hold the staff anywhere from horizontally across the small of his back to nearly vertical, as he desired.

“Awesome!” Jack exclaimed before setting it aside to examine the next present.

This one was from Raven.  It was a traditionally Ojibwa-styled dreamcatcher.  There were even a couple of black feathers attached to it.  In fact –

“Raven, are these your feathers?  And aren’t these culturally a bit outside your West Coast Native American roots?”

“Yes, those are my own feathers.  They will help guard you against Pitch’s nightmares particularly well, if I do say so myself.  And, yes, it’s a little bit off-culture, but I have made a point of adopting all the good, and particularly the fun, rituals and customs from across the continent.  Coyote introduced me to them ages ago.  I should introduce you two sometime; I think you two would really hit it off.”

Aster grumbled something that sounded suspiciously like, “That dingo better keep his hands to himself next time,” but Jack wasn’t completely sure.  He’d have to ask Bunny later.

 _For now, presents!_ he thought gleefully.

There were several neat decorative trinkets from Frige, Phil, and Sandy, which Jack planned to put on a shelf in the burrow once he got Bunny to carve him a shelf for his own personal effects in the nest room.  That left Tooth’s present, which looked suspiciously like –

“Tooth, this is my tooth box,” Jack stated in mild confusion, before letting out a gasp when he opened it.

“The girls and I made a point of finding the rest of your missing teeth while you were hiding out in the Warren.  That one right there,” she replied as she flit over to point at a molar, “is the first tooth you ever lost.  Predictably, it was the last one we found.  The feel of the memories in that one were kind of odd, to be honest.”

“Odd, how?” Jack inquired, hand already hovering over the tooth in anticipation of the memories contained therein.

“Well, there’s joy, hope, wonder, and a jumble of other things I can’t put my finger on.  It’s just so… _full_.”

“If no one minds, I’d really like to have a look then,” Jack said.

The other indicated that he could go right ahead; it _was_ his birthday after all.  So, Jack touched his index finger to the tooth and zoned out immediately, his eyes staring off into the middle distance.  A slow smile bloomed on his face, as if in slow motion over the course of minutes.  To everyone’s surprise and worry, however, a single tear slid down his face after the smile fully formed.  It was quickly followed by several more.

“What is going on?” Aster asked anxiously.

Tooth reached out and gently touched Jack’s hand.  Jack started as his eyes rapidly snapped back into focus on her face.  He blinked several times, his hand shooting up to touch the tear tracks in wonder.

“Jack?  Was I wrong?  Was there something bad in those memories?”

Jack shook himself before replying, “No.  It was just very – _intense_.”

“How so?” Bunny inquired.

Jack handed Tooth the box as she retreated to her place by Raven, before turning around in Bunny’s embrace and sitting back a short distance.  Jack smiled beatifically at the Pooka.

“Jack?” Aster asked hesitantly.

Jack held up his hand and concentrated.  Curls of frost swirled up out of his palm and slowly formed an egg out of ice, across which a particularly intricate design formed.

Bunny gasped.  “That’s the googie I gave to my First Believer!  I never told anyone about the design and I never reused it!  How…?”

“Bunny,” Jack said quietly, eyes bright.  “That was _me_.”

Everyone gasped.  Several dozen elves fell over and caused quite a ruckus of jingling bells.  Bunny stared at Jack in complete shock.  After a long moment, Aster tentatively reached out a paw to lightly run a single fingertip down the side of Jack’s face, as if analyzing the contours of it.  Bunny then turned his paw fully into Jack’s jaw, cradling it.  Jack turned his head slightly without breaking eye contact and coyly kissed Aster’s palm.

“It _was_ you,” Aster whispered in awe.  “All this time…!”

Jack pressed a finger lightly to Bunny’s lips, effectively silencing him.

“No self-recriminations.  The past is past.  If you must, you can make it up to me in the future, but no dwelling on mistakes already made and forgiven.  I love you,” Jack said softly.

Aster pulled Jack into a sudden hug, nuzzling the teen’s hair just above his ear as he whispered, “and I, you.”

Jack gasped.  Tooth and her fairies cooed happily.

Jack pulled back slightly to look Aster in the eye.

“Really?  You mean it?”

“Really really, you silly larrikin.”

After everyone else gave the couple a few minutes to absorb their newest revelations, Frige politely inquired if anyone would be interested in refreshments.  This got the ball rolling on dinner service, followed by more cake.  Jack's succinct opinion was that Frige was _amazing_.

“Lady Friday, this dinner has been simply _amazing_.  The food has been particularly delicious.  And the chocolate cake was just awesome, if you’ll pardon me speaking plainly,” Jack commented after they were done eating.

Frige blushed lightly at the compliments and smiled her thanks.

Just then, the temperature in the room started dropping.  A light, chilly breeze ruffled Aster’s fur and Jack’s hair.  Jack rolled his eyes.

“Really, Grandfather, do you _have_ to always make the room colder?  I mean, _I_ don’t mind –well, except when you make it go to fucking _absolute zero_ – but the others surely do.  Oh!  Pardon my French, Lady Friday.”

“Nonsense, Jack,” she replied off-handedly as they watched Old Man Winter coalesce out of thin air.  “I’ve been known to swear worse than a sailor in my native tongue when the occasion warrants.  And, before you ask – I can see the question in your eyes – I speak Pict.  I’m the last native speaker, unless there’s some other spirits out there I don’t know about.”

Old Man Winter chuckled in his dark, slightly foreboding way as he fully formed.  Jack rolled his eyes again.  He was getting used to the spirit’s antics.

“What brings you here, Grandfather?” Jack inquired politely.

“Well, it _is_ your birthday, frostling.  We came to offer our congratulations, both for the day and for your recent success with the General.”

“We?” Jack inquired.

“Ydw,” came Eirlys’ voice as she materialized in a similar manner to Winter.

At least, Jack thought it was Eirlys.  She looked completely different.  Her outfit was similar to before, although the robe was obviously of a very high quality wool and the silver circlet on her forehead now bore a shimmering sapphire.  Her albino wolf-fur trimmed snow white clothes and now-snow white hair and paler skin clued Jack in immediately.  Her eyes were still that beautiful shade of amber, so like a wolf’s eyes, especially with the predatory glint they carried at the moment.  Faint diamond dust sparkled in the air around her head, dissipating and reforming slowly over time, creating a twinkling sort-of-halo.

“Eirlys!  You’re – you’re –” Jack exclaimed, at a loss for words.

“The Snow Queen?  Why, yes, my frostling.  I apologize for deceiving you before, at my cottage.  I did not want to scare you before you got the chance to speak with me plainly,” Eirlys said gently.

Jack stared at her for a moment.

He then favored her with a slightly embarrassed grin, saying, “Yeah, you’re probably right, my lady.”

“Oh, Jack, don’t even start with the ‘my lady’ stuff.  I get so tired of it from the other Winter spirits.  I, like Father here, would really prefer the more familial term, if you must use a title at all and not my name.  Just, don’t call me anything fancy, my frostling.”

Jack frowned.

“That’s right.  Everyone keeps telling me to ask you, _mother_ , so I’ll ask you,” he said as he stood up shakily.  “What’s with this ‘frostling’ busin—”

Jack stopped mid-sentence as he suddenly wobbled in place and slapped a hand to his forehead.

“Jack?” Aster queried worriedly, moving to stand in case Jack fell over.

“I’m – I’m all right.  I just feel – I feel –”

Jack fainted with a pained groan.

 

~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~

 

Aster was glad he’d had the forethought to stand, as he was easily able to catch Jack when the sprite fainted and lower him gently to the thick rug.  He placed a paw on Jack’s forehead.  The sprite was nearly room temperature – a fever by anyone else’s standards.

Mother Nature materialized out of thin air, appearing as if she coalesced from the moisture itself.

“Seraphina,” Old Man Winter greeted.  “It is too early.  This is not as we planned this.”

“No it is not, Arcturus,” Mother Nature replied.  “But it is happening.  _Now_.”

Aster froze in shock, both at the name Mother Nature used to address Old Man Winter and at the sight Jack made before him.  The sprite was quickly frosting over, layer after layer, covering his entire body.  When Aster moved to brush the frost away, Eirlys snagged his paw.

“Don’t touch him, Aster,” she said gently.  “You’ll only prolong the process needlessly.  North!  Open that window and put out the fire!”

North immediately moved to open the large window behind the couch while Phil dashed to the fireplace and quickly doused the flames.  The room grew cold quickly as the Wind blew in to quietly circle Jack’s prone form.  The Man in the Moon began to shine brightly through the open window, his light focused upon the now completely covered form of Jack Frost.  Aster couldn’t make out any of the sprite’s features, not even the blue of his hoodie or the thin sweatpants he was borrowing while his old leather ones were being repaired.

Eirlys reached down and lightly slid her thin hand under the edge of the cocoon surrounding Jack, near his feet.  She promptly pulled the aforementioned sweatpants off the sprite and tossed them to the side.

“What was that for?” Aster challenged.

“To avoid ripping them when he changes,” she replied distractedly as she hovered over Jack's prone form.

“What!” Aster exclaimed angrily.

“Aster,” Old Man Winter said commandingly.

When Bunny looked at him, he was shocked by the words that came out of Winter’s mouth next.  Not because of what he said, but _how he said it_.

“Be patient, youngling.  All will be made obvious in time,” the ancient spirit said.

 _In Pookan_.

With the correct accent of a _native speaker_ of the Winter Pooka dialect, which Bunny had not heard since he was a small kit, before Pitch had destroyed his race.

Aster’s mouth dropped open as he was rendered speechless.

_But I’m the only native speaker left…?_

Jack groaned from under the ice cocoon, which shuddered as the sprite shifted slightly.

“Jack!” Aster exclaimed, unwilling to interfere, but desperate to do so.

“It is done,” Seraphina and Old Man Winter intoned ritualistically, in perfect tandem.

Eirlys lightly pushed her hand into the ice to touch Jack’s side.

“Jack.  You can wake now.  Rise, my frostling, in all your glory,” she intoned in a tone similar to the others.

Jack groaned out a plaintive, “My head…” as he sat up, frost and ice falling from his body in chunks.

Jack’s ear brushed Aster’s chin right before the Pooka’s legs gave out and he flopped onto the floor in a boneless fashion, his back thunking hard against the couch.

“Jack…?” Aster whispered, in complete and utter shock, his eyes as wide as they’d ever been.

Jack’s very long, very white, and very _furry_ rabbit ear twitched at the whisper.  Jack raised a furred paw to rub at his eyes but froze when he saw his own hand and stared in wonder.

“Aster…?” Jack whispered back.  “What’s happened to me?”

Aster really wanted to know that himself, since he was staring at a very white and very beautiful Winter Pooka wearing Jack’s hoodie and speaking in Jack’s voice.

_Jack’s a Pooka._

_I’m not alone._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so ends _Snow Storm_. The next story in the series will be entitled _Snow Pooka_. I will begin posting it sometime in the next few days, depending on if my muse allows me to take a short break from writing or not.
> 
> I hope all of you have enjoyed my first novel-length story thru to completion and I sincerely hope you will continue with me to the next part of the series, which I have decided to call _The Arctic Hare and the Easter Bunny_.


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